Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of untaxed vehicles.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department made of the number and proportion of vehicles that were untaxed in the last two years.

Mr Richard Holden: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle unlicensed vehicles. These range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras, wheelclamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles. The DVLA is currently running a publicity campaign to highlight the consequences of not licensing vehicles. The DVLA also runs adverts on social media, mobile gaming, search engines, poster sites, and radio. The DVLA collects more than £7 billion in vehicle excise duty each year on behalf of HM Treasury. Every two years, a roadside survey is carried out to estimate the number of unlicensed vehicles on the roads. The last survey, carried out in June 2021, showed that 98.1 per cent of vehicles were correctly licensed.

High Speed 2 Line: Wetlands

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating wetlands close to the route of the proposed HS2 line between London and Birmingham.

Huw Merriman: HS2 Ltd has assessed the potential merits of creating wetlands within the land required for the construction and operation of the railway and has included over 70 hectares of wetlands in the Phase One (London to West Midlands) design where considered appropriate; taking into account factors such as land use, hydrology and topography. One example is the Colne Valley Western Slopes on Phase One where HS2 Ltd is creating 127 hectares (314 acres) of wetlands, wood pasture and species-rich grasslands using chalk taken from tunnelling under the Chilterns.

High Speed 2 Line

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to review the decision relating to running HS2 from Birmingham to Leeds and York using a revised programme of delivery.

Huw Merriman: As set out in the IRP, HS2 services from Birmingham will reach Newcastle via Manchester, Leeds and York. The IRP also included £100 million for further work to look at the most effective way to run HS2 trains to Leeds, including understanding the optimal solution for capacity at Leeds station, and starting work on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The Government intends to publish the terms of reference for the HS2 to Leeds Study soon.

Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to help increase funding for electric HGV research and development.

Jesse Norman: In May 2022, the Department announced an expansion to its Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator (ZERFD) programme, which will see hundreds of zero emission HGVs deployed on UK roads. This programme will demonstrate several zero emission HGV technologies at scale on UK roads, and inform which technology, or technology mix, is best suited for use in the UK. This follows £20m of funding provided in 2021/22 as part of the Zero Emission Road Freight Trials (ZERFT) programme for industry to conduct feasibility studies into zero emission HGVs and associated infrastructure, along with the deployment of 20 battery electric trucks. The demonstrator programme will collect a strong evidence base to enable long-term, strategic infrastructure decisions to be made to decarbonise the road freight sector, both by the Government and industry.

Bus Services: South West

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department last met representatives of the bus sector in (a) Plymouth and (b) the South West to discuss (i) the Bus Recovery Grant and (ii) support for that sector from April 2023.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department for Transport regularly engages with Local Transport Authorities and bus operators. Officials contacted local government representatives, including Devon County Council, on Friday 17 February to discuss the Government’s extension to the Bus Recovery Grant and the £2 Bus Fare Cap. We will continue to engage with the sector as we deliver the ambitions set out in the National Bus Strategy.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 141634 on Wind Power: Seas and Oceans, if his Department will make an estimate of the (a) number of non-UK Flagged vessels operating in the offshore wind sector and (b) percentage of the total number of vessels operating in the offshore wind sector that are UK Flagged.

Mr Richard Holden: As per previous answer to Question 141634, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not hold registration data for non-UK Flagged vessels specifically operating in the offshore wind sector. Therefore, the second part of the question cannot be answered. In order to calculate the percentage of UK Flagged vessels it would require a volume of the whole sector and the MCA does not have this information.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 141634 on Wind Power: Seas and Oceans, what the requirements and criteria are that non-UK Flagged vessels must meet in order to operate in the offshore wind sector.

Mr Richard Holden: Requirements for a foreign operator to operate under the guise of a High-Speed Offshore Service Craft (HSOSC) are the same as for operating UK vessels. However, the flag state has to approach the UK to request permission to operate in UK waters and any additional conditions for their Permit To Operate (PTO), noting that the UK has a mutual letter of acceptance with the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and the Netherlands for their equivalence Certificate Standard to the UK HSOSC Code. Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU), Mobile Offshore Unit (MOU) and Mobile Offshore Windfarm Unit (MOWU) vessels may operate under the cargo vessel statutory certification, as per a UK vessel or be in possession of compliance certificates under the MODU Code. The UK would not accept MODU certificates on MOU/MOWU’s; they would have to comply with the cargo equivalent for their gross tonnage and/length as per a UK vessel. Non-UK Workboats are required to hold an equivalent workboat Certificate or Load Line (or Load Line Exemption), which is accepted within the UK. Any Offshore Supply Vessel, Emergency Response Rescue Vessel (ERRV) or conventional cargo vessel have the same operator requirements as per UK vessels. All the above certification requirements for operators on all mentioned vessels are applicable to UK and non-UK operators in UK territorial waters including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Railway Stations

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of waiting areas at railway stations for (a) parents and children, (b) disabled people and (c) people with mental health or neurodiversity requirements.

Huw Merriman: Station operators are responsible for ensuring the stations which they manage are safe, secure and accessible. All station operators must establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) that states how they will protect the interests of disabled passengers at stations, and provides an overview of the accessibility of station facilities and services. The ATP sets out, amongst other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled customers. As part of that operators must set out the waiting facilities that are provided.

Railways: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to take a decision on the upgrade of the railway line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the potential economic merits of enhancing the Shrewsbury-Black Country-Birmingham rail line.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received on the business case for improvements to the Shrewsbury-Black Country-Birmingham rail line.

Huw Merriman: Midlands Connect submitted a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for its proposals to upgrade the railway between Shrewsbury and Birmingham to the Department for Transport in 2022. The benefits of upgrading the line are outlined in the SOBC, including an estimate of the economic impacts of the scheme. We are considering the case for upgrading this line in terms of value for money, affordability, and alignment with the Government’s strategic priorities. We are committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) update as soon as possible to provide clarity on the progress of projects.

Railway Stations: Leeds

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the development of new railway stations at (a) Leeds Bradford Airport, (b) White Rose and (c) Thorpe Park.

Huw Merriman: In 2021, the Department announced the results of the £32m New Stations Fund 3, which included £5m for White Rose and £7m for Thorpe Park. White Rose is currently expected to open at the end of 2023, and Thorpe Park in 2024. The Department also provided the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) with funding to develop the business case for a new Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway Station, through the £173.5m Leeds Public Transport Improvement Programme. WYCA is planning to complete its Final Business Case for the station later this year, with the delivery phase due to start in 2024, subject to planning consent.

Safety Belts: Disability

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency guidance that seatbelt buckle guards should not be used on the safety of young people with additional needs and disabilities when travelling in vehicles, including taxis and mini buses.

Mr Richard Holden: I recognise the importance of vulnerable young people being able to travel safely to school and elsewhere and I understand why some local authorities have chosen to use these devices to try and keep children safe. However, there are potential safety issues in the event of an emergency, and for this reason DVSA has sent two direct notices to public service vehicle operators to highlight the potential issues. However, this is a complicated matter and the DVSA has no plans to target enforcement action against their use, instead it will support PSV operators and other transport providers and DVSA is working with industry to develop solutions to maintain the safe transport of PSV users.

Schools: Transport

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to issue guidance on the use of buckle belts following advice issued by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and in the context of local authorities use of home to school transport services.

Mr Richard Holden: I recognise the importance of vulnerable young people being able to travel safely to school and elsewhere and I understand why some local authorities have chosen to use these devices to try and keep children safe. However, there are potential safety issues in the event of an emergency, and for this reason DVSA has sent two direct notices to public service vehicle operators to highlight the potential issues. However, this is a complicated matter and the DVSA has no plans to target enforcement action against their use, instead it will support PSV operators and other transport providers and DVSA is working with industry to develop solutions to maintain the safe transport of PSV users.

Motor Vehicles: Ukraine

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have held discussions with representatives of the car insurance sector on provisions for Ukrainian refugees, including on insurance premiums for vehicle models imported on a temporary basis from Ukraine.

Mr Richard Holden: Officials regularly liaise with representatives of the insurance industry to discuss issues, including around support for Ukraine.

Travel: Greater London

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on the potential merits of providing additional Government funding to TfL for reinstating (a) the older person's freedom pass between 4.30am and 9.00am on weekdays and (b) the 60+ London Oyster photocard on Transport for London services between 4.30am and 9.00am on weekdays.

Mr Richard Holden: Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL, and it is their responsibility to manage and oversee the transport network. This includes decisions with regards to concessionary travel schemes. Since the onset of the pandemic, Government has provided TfL with over £6billion of emergency funding support but has been clear that this funding should not be used to provide concessions which are not available to other passengers in England.

Railways: Facilities

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with train station operators on the potential merits of allowing (a) disabled people and (b) other vulnerable groups who have not purchased a first class ticket to use first class lounges in stations while awaiting a train.

Huw Merriman: Station operators are responsible for ensuring the stations which they manage are safe, secure and accessible. All station operators must comply with an Accessible Travel Policy that sets out, amongst other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled customers. As part of that operators must set out the waiting facilities that are provided.

High Speed 2 Line

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the outline business for the Phase 2b Western Leg.

Huw Merriman: A business case for Phase 2b Western Leg was published at the point of deposit for the High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill in January 2022. A further update was provided in June 2022 to reflect changes to the Bill brought about by an additional provision to remove the link to the WCML at Golborne. We will continue to provide updated economic assessments of HS2 at key decision points for the programme, as it has been done to date.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish a response to the consultation entitled Managing pavement parking, published on 31 August 2020.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department consulted on measures to address inconsiderate pavement parking in 2020 and received over 15,000 responses. We have been considering all views expressed and the options for managing pavement parking. This is a complex issue and we want to ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible.

Department for Transport: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Jesse Norman: The records available to the Department for Transport via the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), as declared by suppliers on their permanent recruitment frameworks, for each of the last three years are as follows:2020/21£100,044.622021/22£45,532.002022/23£189,376.90 (to date)Note: Recruitment consultancies are used by the department to attract the talent and specialist skills required to deliver its strategic objectives and services. It is possible, but unlikely, that some spend has occurred that has not been declared by suppliers, although the Department’s internal finance system does not record data in such a way that allows this to be cross-checked. These totals are inclusive of recruitment to the Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies (DVSA, DVLA, MCA, VCA and ATE) and for both senior civil service (SCS) and delegated grade recruitment. The figure for 20/21 was higher than expected due to a higher volume of recruitment targeted at individuals with specialist/hard to recruit skills. The increase in 22/23 over the previous year results from a renewed focus on the department’s places for growth agenda and a growing focus on recruiting outside London.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Scotland Act 1998

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings of (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department with the Scottish Government on Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 have (i) been scheduled and (ii) taken place since 1 January 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Alister Jack: Following my decision to exercise section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 with regard to the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, I met with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 24 January. I made clear it is now for the Scottish Government to bring forward a bill that addresses the adverse effects set out in the order and accompanying Statement of Reasons. The Scotland Act 1998 specifically provides for a reconsideration stage in the Scottish Parliament for these circumstances. I made a statement in the House on 17 January setting out the UK Government’s position, which remains unchanged.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Finance

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this level of funding on its UN A status accreditation.

Mr Steve Baker: The Government can confirm that an independent review of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) began in August 2022 and concluded in December 2022 and we are reviewing the recommendations made in this report. The recommendations and the Government’s response to them will be published in due course. The Government is acutely aware of the concerns of the NIHRC regarding their funding, and the importance of their ‘A’ status. We will continue to work with the NIHRC and colleagues in Government to ensure the NIHRC is adequately funded for their important work. We are pleased to have been able to confirm funding for the NIHRC’s work in relation to Article 2 of the Northern Ireland Protocol for the next two financial years. Guarantees of equality and rights, which recognise the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, are a fundamental part of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, to which the Government is firmly committed.

Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Fresh Start funding for capital projects in Integrated Schools will be extended beyond March 2026.

Mr Steve Baker: The Fresh Start Agreement reaffirmed the commitment made by the UK Government in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement to provide up to £500 million over 10 years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education. This funding is subject to individual projects being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government. A total of 23 integrated school and five shared campus capital projects are currently being supported by the package. The Government will continue to work with Northern Ireland Departments on identifying and agreeing to fund projects put forward within this agreed window. We will keep progress on the delivery of the financial package within its lifespan under careful review.

Department of Health and Social Care

Social Services: Contracts

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social care contracts were returned to local authorities in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have the duty to shape their care markets to meet the needs of their populations. The Department does not hold data on how many contracts were returned to local authorities.

Community Diagnostic Centres

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who is responsible for the commissioning and delivery of care within (a) Community Diagnostic Centres and (b) Surgical Diagnostic Hubs; and whether his Department has plans to publish data on the activities of (i) Community Diagnostic Centres and (ii) Surgical Diagnostic Hubs.

Helen Whately: Local commissioners are responsible for the commissioning of care within Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and surgical hubs. Data on the activities of CDCs and surgical hubs will be published in due course.

Cancer: Mortality Rates

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to to introduce a cancer-specific plan for increasing cancer survival in England as part of the Major Conditions Strategy.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department's Major Conditions Strategy will help increase (a) faster and (b) earlier diagnosis of cancer.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will look at cancer, covering treatment, prevention and follow-up care. The strategy will look at a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.

Family Hubs: Health Visitors

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of Health Visitors on the ability of family hubs to operate effectively.

Helen Whately: There are no plans to make an assessment. Family Hubs are intended to enhance services so parents and carers can access support they need. This can include health visiting services where it is determined locally. The Government has published supporting guidance and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 110889 of 14 December 2022 on Community Diagnostic Centres.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Visitors

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of Health Visitors on (a) health and wellbeing outcomes for children under the age of five and (b) parenting skills and confidence in those skills among parents of children under the age of five.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Visitors

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that health visitors work with safe caseloads in the context of trends in the number of health visitors.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide (a) additional funding for sexual health services and (b) sexual health risk reduction (i) advice and (ii) interventions that are available (A) face-to-face and (B) online.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of the prostate-specific antigen testing programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Incentives Scheme: Wolverhampton

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost has been to the Government up to 21 February 2023 of the Better Health: Reward app pilot in Wolverhampton announced on 17 February 2023.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 12 March 2018 to Question 131162, on Sexual Offences: Essex, what progress his Department has made since 2018 on establishing a new data collection for violence against and abuse of NHS staff; and if he will he publish that data.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Telemedicine: Pilot Schemes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Patients to carry out health checks in comfort of own home to ease pressure on frontline services, published on 5 December 2022, what steps his Department is taking to evaluate the plan for the digitised NHS health check trial in Cornwall.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Telemedicine: Pilot Schemes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release  entitled Patients to carry out health checks in comfort of own home to ease pressure on frontline services, released on 5 December 2022, when he expects the outcome of the digitised NHS health check trial in Cornwall to be published.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve breast cancer screening rates in (a) the UK and (b) Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Danny Kruger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason children who turned five before 1 September 2022 remain eligible for a primary course covid-19 vaccination, in the context of the risk of severe covid-19 symptoms in this age group.

Maria Caulfield: The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations.The primary aim of the universal primary vaccination offers to children aged five to 11 years old, was to increase the immunity of vaccinated individuals against severe COVID-19 in advance of a potential future wave during the pandemic. When formulating advice in relation to childhood immunisations, JCVI has consistently maintained that the focus should be on the potential benefits and harms of vaccination to children and young people themselves, with prevention of severe COVID-19 (hospitalisations and deaths) in children and young people the primary aim.As we transition away from a pandemic emergency response towards pandemic recovery, the JCVI advised on 25 January 2023, that the offer of a primary (initial) course of COVID-19 vaccination should be removed from those aged five to 49 years old who are not in an at-risk group. This will move to a more targeted offer during seasonal campaign periods to those at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 or of transmitting the virus to those vulnerable to serious outcomes. The JCVI advice to target the initial vaccination offer to those at higher risk only is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-programme-for-2023-jcvi-interim-advice-8-november-2022/jcvi-statement-on-the-covid-19-vaccination-programme-for-2023-8-november-2022The Government is considering when during 2023 this recommendation should be implemented, and an announcement will be made in due course.

Clinical Trials

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications for phase one clinical trials were assessed by the MHRA in each of the last ten years.

Will Quince: The following table shows the number of applications for phase one clinical trials that have been assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) across the past 10 years.YearNumber of phase one Clinical Trials Assessed by the MHRA20133192014292201531820163012017331201830020192172020275202130020222572023 to current date32

Hospitals: Building Regulations

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that doorways in new hospital buildings are wide enough to allow beds to pass through them.

Will Quince: NHS England provides guidance for designing new hospitals. The current guidance is Health Building Note (HBN) 00-04 Circulation and Communication Spaces which sets out the door and corridor width requirements for bed movement.

NHS: Assets

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has approved the (a) sale and (b) disposal of any NHS assets at below market value since December 2019.

Will Quince: National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets for this purpose. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate. The Department does not hold this data.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for elective surgery is in the UK.

Will Quince: The data is not available in the format requested. Waiting time data for the United Kingdom is not available.

Drugs: Research

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the UK's share of the global pharmaceutical research and development market.

Will Quince: The Department, alongside the former Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, have jointly commissioned an independent review of clinical trials. The review, currently underway, will offer recommendations on how commercial clinical trials can help the life sciences sector unlock United Kingdom growth and investment opportunities. It will also advise on how to resolve key challenges in conducting commercial clinical trials in the UK and will build on the 2021 publication of ‘Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’. This vision sets out plans restructuring the UK’s research delivery to enable increased recruitment and market share of global trial numbers and aims to make study set-up and delivery faster, more efficient and more innovative. All of these measures will offer the assurance to global pharmaceutical companies that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to deliver cutting-edge research and increase the share of the global pharmaceutical research and development market.

Fenwick Hospital

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to hold back the proposed sale by the NHS of the site and buildings of the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst until (a) documentation is produced specifying (i) who owns the title and (ii) what the terms were under which the original gift of ownership to the Lyndhurst community came under control of the NHS in 1948 and (b) sufficient time has been given to the League of Friends of the Fenwick Hospital further to develop plans for its future and assemble financial support to implement them.

Will Quince: The future use of Fenwick Community Hospital is subject to the plans set out by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board who are the legal owners of the land and buildings. It is not a matter for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and NHS England have offered a meeting to League of Friends and Julian Lewis MP, in order that all information relating to the legal title of the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst can be shared and discussed. Following this meeting, date to be confirmed, a decision relating to the auction sale of the site and its timing can be made.

NHS: Research

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to increase NHS staff’s access to protected time for research.

Will Quince: The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has written to the Secretary of State with the findings of its inquiry into clinical academics in the National Health Service. The Government will respond to the Committee’s recommendations in due course, including plans for how NHS Trusts and hospitals will meet the statutory commitment to allow consultants to spend an average of 25% of their time on supporting professional activities. Work is ongoing to deliver the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery which is aiming to create a research positive culture across the NHS and a plan to develop a sustainable and supported research workforce for all healthcare and research staff from all professional backgrounds.

Ambulance Services: Vehicles

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS ambulance trusts in England operate video systems in their vehicles.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Departments hold on which NHS ambulance trusts in England discontinued use of vehicle video systems.

Will Quince: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care: Publications

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) strategy papers and (b) white papers announced by Ministers in his Department have not been published in the period since 2010.

Will Quince: The Department regularly reviews planned strategies and publications to ensure that activity aligns with strategic priorities for Government and the sector.

Mental Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to publish its 10-Year Plan for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Maria Caulfield: There are no plans to publish a 10-year Plan for Mental Health and Wellbeing. Instead of a standalone mental health strategy, the Government announced on 24 January 2023 that mental health will form part of a joined up Major Conditions Strategy, which will ensure that mental ill-health is considered alongside other physical health conditions, meaning the interactions between them are reflected in the resulting plans.Preventing mental ill-health, and better supporting those with it, will be part of the Strategy. We will also publish a refreshed Suicide Prevention Strategy. We know that many of the risk factors that contribute to mental ill-health are cross-society in nature, and we will therefore be working closely with Departments across Government.

Cannabis: Prescriptions

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to launch a public awareness campaign on the reasons for which people are prescribed medical cannabis.

Will Quince: The Department has no current plans to launch a public awareness campaign on the reasons for which people are prescribed cannabis-based medicines.

Cancer: Health Services

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Major Conditions Strategy improves outcomes for people with a less survivable form of cancer.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will look at all cancer types, covering the patient pathway from prevention, through treatment, to follow-up care. The strategy will look at a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.

Department for Education

Sign Language: Adult Education

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many places on courses (a) in and (b) including a focus on British Sign Language up to and including Level 2 were funded through the Adult Education Budget in each of the last five years.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many qualifications (a) in and (b) including a focus on British Sign Language up to and including Level 2 were awarded to students funded through the Adult Education Budget in each of the last five years.

Robert Halfon: The number of enrolments and achievements by adults in each of the last three full academic years in courses where the title includes ‘British Sign Language’ are listed in the table below.Academic yearEnrolmentsAchievements (Awards)2019/2013103702020/218705902021/22860640These aggregate figures can be calculated from published aims enrolments and achievements data, available at the following links: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2019-20#explore-data-and-files, https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2020-21#explore-data-and-files and https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2021-22#explore-data-and-files.

Water: Safety

Saqib Bhatti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that water safety education is included in the national curriculum for primary and secondary schools.

Saqib Bhatti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to help ensure that teachers are trained to deliver water safety education in the classroom.

Nick Gibb: Swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. There are no specific statutory requirements for secondary schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons. Compulsory health education requires that schools teach a sound understanding of risk and provide pupils with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on their wellbeing and health.The Department is working in partnership with members of the National Water Safety Forum, in particular Royal Life Saving Society UK and Swim England to support schools to teach primary and secondary pupils important aspects of water safety.This support includes online lessons on Oak National Academy and resources for pupils in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, launched by the National Water Safety Forum, as part of the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in July 2022.

Sir Michael Barber

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings (a) she, (b) the Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Education and (c) the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had with Sir Michael Barber in his role as an adviser on skills reform since the announcement of his appointment to that role.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings officials from (a) her Department and (b) HM Treasury have had with Sir Michael Barber in his role as an adviser on skills reform since the announcement of his appointment to that role.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the announcement made in the Autumn Statement 2022 that Sir Michael Barber will advise her on Skills reform, on which specific skills policies Sir Michael is providing advice.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the announcement in the Autumn Statement 2022 that Sir Michael Barber would advise her on skills reform, for how long she expects Sir Michael to continue in that role.

Robert Halfon: Sir Michael Barber has been appointed in a personal capacity to provide private advice to my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Education and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the implementation of the government’s current skills reform programme.The Secretary of State and the Chancellor meet with Sir Michael on a monthly basis. The Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Education has also held meetings with Sir Michael.Officials from the department and HM Treasury meet with Sir Michael on a weekly basis.Sir Michael will provide ongoing private advice to the Secretary of State and the Chancellor until there is an agreement for the appointment to end. His work in this capacity is unpaid.

Faith Schools: Regional Planning and Development

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential role of faith schools in levelling up.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential role of catholic schools in levelling up.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) faith schools, (b) faith leaders and (c) Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of removing the 50 per cent rule.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of faith-based education.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many catholic schools there are in (a) Rother Valley constituency, (b) London and (c) England.

Nick Gibb: The Department supports schools with a religious character. They add to the diversity of the school system, they are popular with parents both with and without a faith, and they typically deliver high standards of education for their pupils. They also have an important role to play in supporting levelling up, by providing high quality school places throughout the country.The Department recognises that some groups, including the Catholic Church, feel unable to participate in the free schools programme because of the 50% cap on faith admissions.The Department is committed to ensuring that all providers of schools with a religious character remain able to open new schools once all schools are in academy trusts and, as such, will continue to keep the 50% cap under review. The Department regularly discusses the matter with groups who provide schools with a religious character, including the Catholic Church.There are two mainstream Catholic schools in the Rother Valley Constituency, 296 in London and 1,955 in England.

Apprentices: Taxation

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reviewing the operation of the Apprenticeship Levy to incentivise investment in skills training.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve incentives for businesses to invest in skills training.

Robert Halfon: My right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Education and the Chancellor of the Exchequer meet regularly to discuss how skills can contribute to economic growth.The government is clear that employers have a key role to play in the skills system, and it is important for supporting the country’s productivity and addressing skills gaps that employers invest in skills training.The government is taking steps to build a skills system that is employer focused, high-quality, and fit for the future, so that skills training is aligned to the needs of employers. The department is embedding employer-led apprenticeship standards, driving qualification reform to ensure technical qualifications are high-quality and establishing employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plans. These reforms intend to give employers a greater role in the skills system so that they can invest in skills training with confidence.The department is committed to ensuring that apprenticeships play a key part of the skills landscape, providing employers with the skilled workforce they need for the future.The Apprenticeship Levy supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training and has supported us to grow investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25. The government does not currently have any plans to review the Apprenticeship Levy.The department continues to take steps to improve the apprenticeships system for employers and apprentices. We have made apprenticeships more accessible for all sectors through the development of flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, and we are working with providers to simplify the apprenticeship system through our 'You said, we did' programme. The department has also outlined plans to improve apprenticeships quality, with an ambition for 67% of apprentices completing their apprenticeships by 2024/25.

University of Plymouth

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the initial teacher training market review, whether her Department is taking steps to support the reaccreditation of the University of Plymouth.

Nick Gibb: The Department appointed an Expert Advisory Group in 2020 to consider how the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) sector can provide consistently high quality training, in line with the ITT Core Content Framework. A central recommendation of the ITT Market Review report, accepted by the Department, was that all ITT courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status should have to adhere to a set of Quality Requirements, and that all providers of these courses should go through an accreditation process to ensure they can meet the new requirements from September 2024.179 providers have been accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024, following a rigorous accreditation process. These providers cover all regions of the country and include new entrants to the market. Safeguarding teacher supply is a key priority, including in Plymouth, and the Department will continually monitor provision levels to ensure that there are sufficient ITT places to meet teacher recruitment targets. The reforms aim to ensure every trainee experiences high quality, seamless and coherent ITT programmes and quality will not be compromised.The Department is now actively encouraging partnership and expansions in areas which may have fewer providers following the accreditation process and where unsuccessful providers, such as the University of Plymouth, wish to stay involved in ITT delivery. To support these partnership conversations the Department published guidance, as well as information on funding support, on 12 December 2022 which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-forming-partnerships.The accreditation process concluded in September 2022 and was followed by an appeals process which concluded in December 2022. The Department does not intend to run any further accreditation rounds before the first delivery of reformed ITT in September 2024. The next round of accreditation is expected to take place during 2025/26, after the reforms have embedded into the system.

Members: Correspondence

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to correspondence dated 24 October 2022 from the hon. Member for Putney, case reference FA18772.

Nick Gibb: ​​​​The Department has been unable to find a record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member for Putney with the case reference FA18772.​​​

Universities: Admissions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she had recent discussions with universities on taking steps to ensure that the statistics on the employment of former students on degree courses are accurate when universities offer courses to new students.

Robert Halfon: As autonomous bodies that are independent from the government, universities are responsible for their own course advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority has produced guidance for providers on their responsibilities under consumer protection law, including what material information about courses they should provide to prospective students.The department is working with the sector to agree ways in which providers might incorporate key pieces of data into their course advertising, so that students can better understand what course outcomes they might expect at the point at which courses are being sold to them.The department is clear that universities should be transparent about the content of their courses and the likely outcomes that students can expect from them. Discover Uni, a tool which is owned and operated by the four UK higher education (HE) funding and regulatory bodies, is the official, authoritative source of information and guidance to HE courses in the UK. It is designed to help prospective students to make the right choices about what and where to study, by allowing users to search for and compare information and data for individual undergraduate courses across the UK. The Office for Students sets the expectation that HE providers will display a link to the Discover Uni website on their course website pages to help prospective students make informed decisions about the courses they sign up to.

Schools: Food

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to The National Food Strategy: The Plan, Appendices 3 and 14, published in July 2021, whether her Department has taken steps to implement the Eat and Learn initiative for schools in that Plan; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the requirement to serve meat three times a week from the mandatory School Food Standards in the context of developing a sustainability and health-driven national reference diet.

Nick Gibb: The Department believes it is vital that pupils are taught about food and nutrition. Making healthy choices is relevant at all Key Stages, which is why these principles are taught and applied throughout school. Early Years practitioners encourage children to learn the importance of healthy eating using both narrative and visual resources. Pupils are then taught to understand healthy eating and lifestyle, including cooking, through science, design and technology and health education curricula at both primary and secondary level. Since autumn 2022, pupils have had the opportunity to be taught about food through the Climate Leaders’ Award.Older pupils can understand the employment opportunities and the pathways leading to careers in the food sector. Ten high quality apprenticeships are available across a range of catering and hospitality professions and a T Level in Catering will teach the core knowledge and skills needed to enter such occupations, from September 2023.Regarding the School Food Standards, the Department believes the standards provide a robust yet flexible framework to ensure that pupils in England continue to receive high quality and nutritious food that builds healthy eating habits for life. The standards are being kept under review.

Schools: Buildings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2023 to Question 135240 on Schools: Houghton and Sunderland South, what processes are required to prepare the detailed school level data from the Condition Data Collection programme for publication; and in which (a) formats and (b) locations does she plan to publish that data.

Nick Gibb: The Department is still working to publish information from the Condition Data Collection programme (CDC) as soon as possible.The Department has considered publishing each of the 22,031 individual school CDC reports. These are very large documents and publishing the data in this way would not make it easy to compare one school with another, or for researchers or others to draw useful insights from the data. Instead, the Department plans to publish data on the ‘Explore Education Statistics’ (EES) website where departmental statistics and transparency data are published. The data will be able to be filtered on the EES website so that users can access CDC data for individual schools, and it will also be published in a spreadsheet format to enable easy interrogation of the data.The CDC dataset contains 4.2 million rows of data. When it goes on the EES website, it will be the largest school level dataset on the service. The Department has had to undertake development work on the platform that supports this website to make it sufficiently robust to handle this unprecedented volume of data.

Schools: Buildings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2023 to Question 135240 on Schools: Houghton and Sunderland South, if she will take steps to publish the full data from the Condition Data Collection by 28 February 2023.

Nick Gibb: The key, high level findings of the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.The Department is still preparing more detailed CDC data for publication and plans to publish it as soon as possible.

Hearing Impairment: Teachers

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of qualified teachers for deaf children in schools.

Claire Coutinho: I refer the hon. Member for Ealing Central to the answer I gave on 23 February 2023 to Question 143709.

Classroom Assistants: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants were employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Information on the school workforce, including teaching assistants, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The table below provides the full time equivalent (FTE) number of teaching assistants in primary and secondary schools in the Warwick and Leamington constituency, and in England, for each year since 2011. Data for 2010 is not available, as 2011 was the first year that teaching assistants were included in the national statistic publication.FTE teaching assistants in state funded schools, by school phase November 2011 to 2021 YearWarwick and Leamington EnglandPrimarySecondaryPrimarySecondary202126867179,61048,209202026872177,11547,600201924860174,44546,190201822162174,91046,603201722264174,49148,024201624361176,06650,348201524154172,99852,674201423157165,14254,574201321962155,07855,335201220459145,93755,275201118763136,12653,787Source: School Workforce Census

Children: Food Poverty

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by Magic Breakfast entitled Hidden Hunger - The State of UK Breakfast Provision 2022, published April 2022, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her Department's policies of that report's findings; if she will make it her policy to expand the National School Breakfast Programme to cover all disadvantaged pupils; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to continuing support for school breakfasts. In November 2022, the Department extended the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) to the end of the summer term 2024. The Department is allocating £30 million of funding in this programme. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn. Schools are eligible for the programme if they have 40% or more pupils from deprived households, as measured by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.Family Action estimates that 270,000 children are currently receiving a breakfast from the NSBP on an average school day. The NSBP is undertaking data collection with all participating schools and relevant data will be published in due course.

Pupil Premium: Universal Credit

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she has made an assessment of the potential merits of altering eligibility requirements so that all recipients of Universal Credit can access the Pupil Premium.

Nick Gibb: The Department’s current eligibility threshold enables children in low income households to benefit from free school meals and pupil premium funding, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that support is targeted at those who most need it, as well as continuing to monitor current issues that affect disadvantaged families, such as the rising cost of living.

Free School Meals: Eligibility

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a comparative assessment of the eligibility criteria for access to free school meals (a) on 9 February 2022 and (b) planned for the end of 2024 in each (i) nation of the United Kingdom and (ii) local authority; and if she will make it her policy to expand eligibility for free school meals in England to all children who have a parent on Universal Credit; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Education, including free school meals (FSM), is a devolved matter. This response outlines the information for England only.The latest published statistics from the Department are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. The figures show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, over one third of school children are now provided with FSM, at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The Department currently has protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances change. The end date for these has now been extended until March 2025.The Department’s current eligibility threshold enables children in low income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that support is targeted at those who most need them, as well as continuing to monitor current issues that affect disadvantaged families, such as the rising cost of living.

Refugees: Ukraine

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ukrainian refugee children have been offered school places in Poplar and Limehouse constituency since February 2022; and how much funding has been allocated to the local authority of Tower Hamlets for the provision of those school places.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not normally collect data on the nationality of children admitted to schools. A monthly survey of school placements for children from outside the UK was conducted between May and September 2022 to obtain better data on school place pressures. The results of this can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-placements-for-children-from-outside-of-the-uk.Across this time period, Tower Hamlets Council reported 117 applications from Ukrainian refugees for primary placements, and 50 for secondary.The Department provided additional funding to the local authorities for arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine visa scheme in 2022/2023. Tower Hamlets Council has received £133,067.50 to date through this grant and allocations are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-education-and-childcare-funding. In 2023/2024, Local Authorities will be funded in the normal way. All primary and secondary children on roll at the October 2022 pupil census will attract funding through the National Funding Formula.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Mike Freer: I can confirm the MoJ has no spend on recruitment consultants in the last three years.

Domestic Abuse: Legal Aid Scheme

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of domestic abuse survivors who have (a) received legal aid and (b) not received legal aid in each of the last five years.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of legal aid for domestic abuse survivors.

Mike Freer: It is not a requirement for an individual to disclose if they have been a victim of domestic abuse when applying for legal aid unless they are applying for legal aid in connection with a protective order or private family law cases under the domestic violence gateway. Consequently, it is not possible to determine the number of domestic abuse survivors who have received or been refused legal aid or the total legal aid expenditure for domestic abuse survivors across the whole of the legal aid scheme in each of the last five years.The Government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse, for whom legal proceedings can be both traumatic and costly. Legal aid is and remains available for the purpose of obtaining urgent protection, such as non-molestation orders, without any evidence requirements. Under current legal aid legislation, the Director of Legal Aid Casework has a discretion in these cases to waive the financial eligibility limits for both income and capital where she considers it equitable to do so. All applicants seeking protection from domestic abuse may access legal aid irrespective of their financial circumstances.We recently laid draft secondary legislation to broaden the evidence requirements for domestic abuse victims applying for legal aid. From 1 March 2023, a letter/report following a telephone or video conference with a GP will now be accepted.Additionally, the proposals put forward in the Means Test Review consultation will make it easier for domestic abuse victims to access legal aid, by making the means test more generous and by excluding disputed assets from the means test where they are the subject of the case. These changes will significantly widen access to legal aid, and we estimate that 2 million more people will have access to legal aid in civil cases, including for victims of domestic abuse.

Courts: Local Broadcasting

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to extend the live reporting of court proceedings to local television.

Mike Freer: Live reporting of court proceedings has been allowed in the Court of Appeal since 2013 and sentencing remarks have been broadcast in the Crown Court since July 2022.Only the following authorised media parties, agreed with the Lord Chancellor, can apply to film court proceedings: BBC; ITN; SKY; and Press Association (PA) Media. These media parties will be able to use their footage on their respective television and online news channels and can make their footage (including stills from the filming) available to other media organisations. Members of national, regional and local media interested in a particular case can contact the authorised media to ask them to apply to film a case’s sentencing remarks.These are the only exceptions to the prohibition on filming in court and no one else can film, broadcast or take photos of any hearing at any time. We will carefully monitor the impact of the Crown Court broadcasting changes we introduced in the summer of 2022 before deciding whether to make any further interventions.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Global Disinformation Index

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided to the Global Disinformation Index in each of the last three years; for what reason his Department provides funding to that organisation; and how many times his Department has held discussions with that organisation in the last three years.

Leo Docherty: The FCDO Counter Disinformation and Media Development Programme has funded the Global Disinformation Index since 2019, for activities outside the US, providing £1,999,026 between 2019 and 2022, with a further £600,797 during the current financial year. As a programme beneficiary there will have been frequent contact between the Programme Team and GDI as well as regular performance reports and reviews.As graphically demonstrated around its illegal war in Ukraine, Russia has made disinformation central to its foreign and security policies and invested massively in systems to deny, obfuscate and distract from its actions. The Kremlin exploits any issue or system, including internet platforms and social media.GDI uses technology to identify malign use of the internet and works with technology companies to respond appropriately.

Freedom of Expression

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Big Brother Watch entitled Ministry of Truth: The secretive government units spying on your speech, published in January 2023.

Leo Docherty: This report references the work of a number of teams across Government, including the Government Information Cell (GIC) which is housed within the FCDO. The GIC was established in February 2022 to support the UK's response to Russian disinformation relating to their invasion of Ukraine. The GIC is focused on advising on and delivering output to expose and challenge the Kremlin's lies. The report by Big Brother Watch notes that the GIC is 'working to counteract the impact of a hostile, foreign state's propaganda.' This report has no implications for the GIC's work.

UK Government Information Cell

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse of the Government Information Cell has been in each year since its formation.

Leo Docherty: The Government Information Cell (GIC) was established in February 2022, to support the UK's response to Russian disinformation relating to their invasion of Ukraine. It brought together a cross-Government team of professionals in assessment and analysis, counter-disinformation, and strategic communication. The GIC has been funded from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. It would not be appropriate to comment on funding levels publicly as doing so would give malign actors insight into our capabilities.

Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement on 8 February 2023 that aid will be provided following the recent earthquake, whether he plans to send further aid to (a) Turkiye and (b) Syria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK responded immediately to provide life-saving support to people in Turkey and Syria. On 15 February the UK committed a further package of support to address the urgent humanitarian needs in Turkey and Syria including £25 million in new overseas aid to fund additional emergency relief, such as tents and blankets and the ongoing deployment of UK medical expertise. To date the UK has delivered over 400 tonnes of relief items to both Turkey and Syria. On 19 February I [Minister Mitchell] visited Turkey to witness first-hand the impact of UK aid helping those affected in Turkey and Syria.

Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to the World Food Programme to help tackle the immediate humanitarian needs in (a) Türkiye and (b) Syria following the recent earthquakes.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK currently has no plans to provide additional funding to the World Food Programme. The UK is providing life-saving support to people in Turkey and Syria, including vital relief items, such as tents and blankets and the ongoing deployment of UK medical expertise as well as support to UN agencies and NGO partners.

Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to (a) send Government representatives to the European Commission’s donors’ conference for Türkiye and Syria to mobilise funding following the earthquakes in February 2023 and (b) pledge at that conference.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is aware of the European Commission's donor's conference scheduled to take place in Brussels on 16 March and UK representation will be confirmed in due course. On 15 February the UK committed a further package of support to address the urgent humanitarian needs in Turkey and Syria including £25 million in new overseas aid to fund additional emergency relief, such as tents and blankets and the ongoing deployment of UK medical expertise. We will continue assessing the situation and needs on the ground and target our response effort accordingly with direction from Turkish Authorities, the UN and NGO partners.

Pakistan: Visas

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on Pakistan's refusal to consider visa applications from individuals holding Refugee Travel Documents.

Leo Docherty: The UK is working with the Government of Pakistan to support refugees in Pakistan, and to encourage their inclusion into the wider population. The UK has provided £6.5 million to support refugee preparedness in Pakistan.

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on (a) ending the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims and (b) the failure of authorities to stop violent attacks on Ahmadis in that country.

Leo Docherty: Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities continues to be central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society, including on recent attacks on Ahmadi mosques.

Afghanistan: Females

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support women and girls in Afghanistan with (a) education, (b) hunger and nutrition and (c) tackling gender violence.

Leo Docherty: The Government has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls. We have disbursed £229 million in aid for Afghanistan since April 2022, and are committed to at that at least 50 per cent of those we reach with our aid, should be reaching women and girls. UK aid delivers life-saving support for women and girls by providing emergency food, shelter, nutrition, primary healthcare and support to tackle gender-based violence. We continue to support the delivery of education, including through the UN and other delivery partners. On 19 January, the Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, met Afghan women to ensure we were responding to their needs.

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya and Blasphemy

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on (a) blasphemy and (b) anti-Ahmadi legislation in that country.

Leo Docherty: Protecting minority communities continues to be central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the need to safeguard the rights of religious minorities and raised proposed amendments to the blasphemy laws during his meeting with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. Lord Ahmad also discussed blasphemy laws and the importance of promoting respect for all religions during his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022.

China: Intelligence Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of intimidation by Chinese intelligence officers towards (a) Hong Kong nationals and (b) Uighur Muslims living in the UK.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously. The UK will continue to defend human rights, speaking out and taking action where appropriate - as we have done over Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Xinjiang: Foreign Relations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the debate on the Governor of Xinjiang and a UK Visit, Official Report, 9 February 2023, when Ministers in his Department were first made aware of the potential meeting between his Department officials and the Governor of Xinjiang.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the debate on the Governor of Xinjiang and a UK Visit, Official Report, 9 February 2023, which Minister initially approved the meeting between his Department's officials and the Governor of Xinjiang.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK officials have met with any Chinese officials in the last 12 months who have been sanctioned by the US.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK did not invite the Governor of Xinjiang to visit and under no circumstance would he have been offered a Ministerial meeting. The scale and severity of human rights violations in Xinjiang is harrowing and the UK government consistently raises our concerns with Beijing at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so with his Chinese counterpart on 20 February. As Minister Docherty stated in the debate on 9 February, relevant FCDO Ministers were made aware of the possible visit in the usual way, after officials were notified by the Chinese Embassy in January. Ministers agreed that officials should be prepared to offer a meeting to make clear the UK's abhorrence at the treatment of Uyghur people and to reiterate that we will not relent from exposing China's unacceptable human rights violations. No UK official has met Chinese officials sanctioned by the US over the last 12 months.

China: Russia

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he raised the matter of reports of the supply of Chinese weapons to Russia in his 20 February 2023 meeting with Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: On 20 February 2023 the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. He set out the importance of engagement between the UK and China on areas of mutual concern such as the global economy, health, and climate change. He reiterated the UK's support for Ukraine and condemned Russia's invasion.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Pastoral Care

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing non-religious pastoral care for non-religious armed forces personnel.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Military Chaplains are professionally qualified to provide pastoral care to everyone, regardless of faith or belief background. However, should a Service person feel uncomfortable with talking to a Chaplain, they are able to seek appropriate professional support from a variety of alternative sources, which can be facilitated by the Chaplain. This includes their Chain of Command, through the Services' professional social workers, medical staff, and dedicated welfare staff. Mutual support is also available via the various staff networks, including the Humanist and Non-Religious in Defence (HAND) Network.   Having carefully considered whether this provision is adequate and suitably reflects the needs of all our people, we have recently conducted a review of this matter and consider the provision of pastoral care merits enhancement so that we can deliver even better support.

Ministry of Defence: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Alex Chalk: Although examples will exist for specific roles, the Department does not, in general, make use of external recruitment consultants to fill fulltime roles and the information requested is not centrally held.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the operational status of his Department's fleet of Airbus H135 helicopters; and what plans he has for the future of the fleet.

Alex Chalk: The 29 Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) Airbus H135 helicopters named Juno in RAF service are employed in the training of tri-Service ab-initio trainee pilots and aircrew, trainee pilot and aircrew instructors, and staff instructor currency/competency flying. Irreducible spare capacity is used to train international aircrew in accordance with the Department's priorities and via Government-to-Government agreements. A small proportion of non-UKMFTS tasks are also conducted. The UKMFTS aircraft will be employed in this role until at least the end of the UKMFTS contract in 2033.A further five H135 airframes are airworthy in storage whilst awaiting a Ministry of Defence decision.

Trident

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason he has not published a 2022 update to Parliament on The United Kingdom's future nuclear deterrent; and when he plans to publish that report.

Alex Chalk: The scheduled annual update to Parliament on the United Kingdom's future nuclear deterrent is undergoing final clearance procedures and will be published in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions

Emergencies: Finance

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse of local authority Emergency Assistance Payments was for (a) 2021-2022 and (b) 2022-2023.

Mims Davies: During the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, the Department for Work and Pensions has supported Local Authorities in England to provide discretionary support with basic essentials to those most in need through the Covid Local Support Grant and Household Support Fund grant schemes. The Department for Work and Pensions does not provide any funding called ‘Local Authority Emergency Assistance Payments’.  During the financial year 2021/22 the Covid Local Support Grant ran from April to September 2021 and the Household Support Fund ran from October 2021 to March 2022. The total funding allocated for these schemes in England was £621m and the total expenditure was £615m. For the current financial year 2022/23, DWP has allocated funding for the Household Support Fund in England of £842m. This has been provided in two separate tranches. The total expenditure will be confirmed in due course, once the financial year has ended. Local Authorities in England can also make similar payments out of their wider funding, received from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The devolved administrations are responsible for their own Local Welfare Assistance provision.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that people who are eligible for Universal Credit but receive a nil award as a result of a sanction are not prevented from accessing other benefit payments.

Guy Opperman: This depends on the individual eligibility criteria for other benefits.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing benefits in line with (a) inflation and (b) the cost of living; and if he will review his Department's processes for recovering social security debt.

Guy Opperman: State pensions and benefits will increase by 10.1% in April 2023. This is in line with the increase in the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the current exceptionally high cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost of living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24. Subject to passage of the necessary legislation, this will include further Cost of Living Payments of up to £900 for households in receipt of qualifying means-tested benefits and £150 for people in receipt of qualifying disability benefits. In addition, eight million pensioner households will receive a further £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their Winter Fuel Payment. The Government will also continue to provide support to all households through the Energy Price Guarantee, which caps the price paid for each unit of energy. From April, the typical household will now pay on average £3,000 a year. With respect to the Department’s processes for recovering social security debt, anyone who is repaying a benefit overpayment and feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery is encouraged to contact the Department to discuss their situation. The Department has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage their debts.

Jobcentres

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre staff have been reallocated from pre-existing projects to provide capacity for the two-week daily face-to-face Jobcentre appointments programme in the four pilot areas.

Guy Opperman: The Pilot is being delivered using our existing Jobcentre resource within each of the pilot areas.

Jobcentres

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional resources have been allocated to support the conduct of daily face-to-face appointments in each of the four pilot areas for the two-week daily face-to-face Jobcentre appointments programme.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre staff have been reallocated from pre-existing projects to provide capacity for the two-week daily face-to-face Jobcentre appointments programme in the four pilot areas.

Guy Opperman: The Pilot is being delivered using our existing Jobcentre resource within each of the pilot areas.

Employment: Menopause

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise menopause awareness amongst employers.

Mims Davies: In July 2021, DWP asked members of the 50 PLUS Roundtable on older workers to look at the important issue of menopause and employment given the impact menopause can have on women’s working lives, particularly in the latter stages of their careers. An independent ‘menopause and the workplace’ report was published later in 2021 and the Government’s response was outlined in July 2022. The Government has again committed, in its response to Recommendation 6 of the Women and Equalities Select Committees report: Menopause and the Workplace, that they will appoint a DWP Menopause Employment Champion. The Menopause Employment Champion will work with the Women’s Health Ambassador on the issue of menopause and employment and drive forward work with employers on menopause workplace issues and spearhead the proposed collaborative employer-led campaign as outlined in the independent report.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Question 133806 on Support for Mortgage Interest, what the Bank of England's monthly average mortgage interest rate used to calculate the Support for Mortgage Interest standard interest rate was on 1 February 2023.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Question 133806 on Support for Mortgage Interest, what the reason is for the requirement for the Bank of England's published monthly average mortgage interest rate to exceed the Support for Mortgage Interest standard interest rate by 0.5% before the latter is updated.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will consider the potential merits of the Support for Mortgage Interest standard interest rate mirroring real-time changes in the Bank of England's published monthly average mortgage interest rate.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the financial impact on recipients of the delay in uprating of Support for Mortgage Interest standard interest rates.

Mims Davies: The primary purpose of SMI is to provide owner-occupiers receiving an income-related benefit with a level of support that is sufficient to protect them from the threat of repossession. Lenders recognise that the payments we make will not always mirror the mortgage-holders liability, but we expect that they will, nonetheless, exercise forbearance. On 31st January 2023, the Bank of England released their latest monthly average mortgage rate. This relates to December 2022 and stands at 2.51%. The rate at which SMI is paid changes only when the Bank of England average varies from the rate in payment by 0.5% or more. Through guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority, lenders are aware that a change to the rate of SMI payments is triggered only in these circumstances and so should continue to offer tailored forbearance to their customers. While SMI is kept under review, particularly when markets are more volatile, there are currently no plans to amend this policy. No assessment has been made of the financial impact on recipients of changing the standard interest rate before the trigger point.

Support for Mortgage Interest: Universal Credit

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to raise the level of Support for Mortgage Interest payable to Universal Credit claimants who make mortgage payments, in the context of increases in inflation.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason Support for Mortgage Interest payable to Universal Credit claimants who make mortgage payments has not been revised and increased in line with mortgage interest rates.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising mortgage repayment rates on claimants for (a) Universal Credit and (b) other state benefits.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who have been made homeless due to the increase in rates of mortgage interest.

Mims Davies: The primary purpose of SMI is to provide owner-occupiers receiving an income-related benefit with a level of support that is sufficient to protect them from the threat of repossession. Lenders recognise that the payments we make will not always mirror the mortgage-holders liability, but we expect that they will, nonetheless, exercise forbearance. The rate at which SMI is paid changes only when the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate varies from the rate in payment by 0.5 percentage points or more. Through guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority, lenders are aware that a change to the rate of SMI payments is triggered only in these circumstances and so should continue to offer tailored forbearance to their customers. While SMI is kept under review, there are currently no plans to amend this policy. There has been no assessment on the impact of rising mortgage repayments for those claimants who are in receipt of SMI. Therefore, there has been no estimate made on the number of Universal Credit claimants who have been made homeless due to increases in mortgage interest rates.

Pension Credit

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time was for a pension credit application that (a) did and (b) did not require a habitual residence test from application to payment in the latest period for which data is available.

Laura Trott: This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

Pensioners: Cost of Living

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to provide cost of living support to those in receipt of the new State Pension and ineligible for Pension Credit, including its associated cost of living support measures.

Laura Trott: The Government understands the pressures people including pensioners are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, running from October 2022-March 2023, will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what the energy price would have been under the current price cap – reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to over £37bn of cost of living support announced in 2022. To ensure stability and certainty for households, the Government is providing a further £26bn in cost of living support for 2023/24. The Government recognises the rising costs felt by all pensioners and therefore nearly 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 10.1% increase to their State Pension payments from April 2023, under the Triple Lock.Pensioner households have received a £300 Cost of Living payment in 2022/23. In winter 2023/24, more than eight million pensioner households will receive a further £300 payment Pensioners can also benefit from the discretionary Household Support Fund for which the government has provided total funding of £2.5 billion.   This is a substantial package of support which recognises the current additional costs faced by pensioners.

Winter Fuel Payment

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost of Winter Fuel Payments to eligible households is for (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

Laura Trott: The total cost of Winter Fuel Payments for 2021/22 was £1,971 million. The Winter Fuel Payment for 2022/23 also included the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 per household and the total cost is estimated to be £4.6 billion.

Pension Credit

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the UK are in receipt of pension credit; and what the annual cost is of that credit.

Laura Trott: In August 2022, the total Pension Credit caseload is 1.38 million. The forecasted real terms expenditure for the financial year 2022/23 is estimated to be approximately £4.9 billion. Statistics of Pension Credit caseload is publicly available via Stat-Xplore. Available here: DWP Stat-Xplore Estimates of real terms expenditure of Pension Credit are available in the ‘Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables 2022’ publication, which can be found at Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables 2022 - GOV.UK

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s reports on the Women's State Pension age, what recent discussions he has had with the Ombudsman on its investigation into communication of changes to women’s state pension; and if he will make a statement.

Laura Trott: It would not be appropriate to comment on the investigation. The Ombudsman’s investigation is ongoing, and the Ombudsman has not given his final findings. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private. We are cooperating with the Ombudsman’s investigation.

Employment Support Allowance: Universal Credit

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many of working disabled people in receipt of Employment Support Allowance will be worse off as a result of managed migration to Universal Credit.

Guy Opperman: As set out in Completing the move to Universal Credit - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), Policy paper, we committed to providing transitional financial protection for those who are moved onto Universal Credit through the managed migration process. This means those eligible households with a lower calculated award in UC than their legacy benefits awards will see no difference in their entitlement at the point they are moved to UC, provided there is no change in their circumstances during the migration process. We are also providing additional protection for those who had a change in circumstance and have been receiving Severe Disability Premium.

Employment: Impact Assessments

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2023 to Question 133981, when his Department plans to complete the evaluations.

Guy Opperman: By Autumn 2023, subject to complexity and the outcome of quality assurance processes.

Energy: Prices

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of energy prices on the (a) health and (b) wider welfare of disabled people.

Tom Pursglove: No such assessment has been made by the department. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including disabled people, and has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs in addition to other cost of living support delivered last year, which includes: The £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme;A Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;Up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit; andA one-off payment of £300 through, and as an addition to, the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households. For those who require additional support, the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.  The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion. In 2023/24, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments, and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the Energy Price Guarantee will be extended from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, meaning a typical household bill will be around £3,000 per year in Great Britain.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has taken enforcement action to ensure companies selling disposable e-cigarettes are compliant with the waste electrical and electronic equipment producer scheme in each of the last seven years.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency undertakes a number of investigation and intervention steps prior to enforcement action, such as compliance monitoring and issuing advice and guidance. To date, the Environment Agency has not taken enforcement action under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations against any company selling disposable e-cigarettes.

Air Pollution

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government's revised air quality strategy will be published.

Rebecca Pow: The department plans to publish a revised National Air Quality Strategy later this year.

Pets: Animal Welfare

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of promoting charitable help and information to reduce pet abandonment in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.

Rebecca Pow: The Government is concerned about the impact of the rise in the cost of living on all aspects of people’s lives, including the rise of costs associated with maintaining the welfare of companion animals. Defra officials regularly meet stakeholders to understand the issues and trends affecting the sector, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living on those who care for companion animals and any changes in pet abandonment rates. Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are currently providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.

Electronic Cigarettes: Environment Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits for the environment of a ban on disposable e-vapes.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the environmental impacts of disposable e-vapes.

Rebecca Pow: The Government is seeking to develop its evidence base on the environmental impacts of disposable e-vapes.Whilst there are no immediate plans to introduce a ban, the Government is concerned by the increasing use of disposable vaping products, particularly amongst children, and their impact on the environment when they become waste. We are exploring a range of measures to address these issues. The Department plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations this year. It will consider what more can be done to improve levels of collection re-use and recycling of electrical equipment including vapes.

Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which companies selling disposable e-cigarettes are listed on the waste electrical and electronic equipment public register.

Rebecca Pow: Producers registered under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations are not required to report data at a product specific level. Producers of disposable vapes are required to report data under Category 7 (leisure equipment and toys) along with any other equipment they place on the market in that category. It is therefore not possible to identify from the public register which companies are placing disposable e-cigarettes on the UK market.

Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on the (a) Northern Ireland Protocol and (b) United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020.

Trudy Harrison: We have assessed the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill as compatible with the Northern Ireland Protocol and United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. As a result, we have not made any further assessment of the impacts of the Bill on the Northern Ireland Protocol and United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020.

Plastics: Seas and Oceans

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to monitor and assess the impact of plastic waste in the ocean on marine life.

Trudy Harrison: The UK monitors levels of marine litter on its beaches, sea surface and seafloor as part of the UK Marine Strategy. The UK Marine Strategy provides a legal framework for assessing and monitoring the status of our seas and to put in place the measures needed to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES). The UK had not reached Good Environmental Status (GES) for levels of marine litter under its most recent assessment in 2019. To help address this, we are introducing additional single-use plastic item bans, extended producer responsibility and deposit return schemes for plastic packaging, whilst also improving consistency in recycling and advocating for high ambition outcomes under a new global treaty on plastic pollution. The UK also contributes to regional monitoring of the North-East Atlantic as a contracting party to The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) Convention. The latest OSPAR assessments which will contribute to OSPARs Quality Status Report of the North East Atlantic, to be published summer 2023, show there has been a significant decrease in beach litter over the last 6 years in the North-East Atlantic. In the Greater North Sea, the probability of seafloor litter collected has increased. There has been a significant decrease in marine litter on the sea surface between 2009 – 2018, so progress has been made towards the threshold level for impact on marine life.

Pets: Theft

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in relation to proposals to introduce an offence of pet abduction announced in September 2021, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on those proposals; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including cats, as well as dogs, in the scope of those proposals.

Rebecca Pow: Defra officials regularly discuss animal welfare issues including the new pet abduction offence with their Welsh Government counterparts. We have listened carefully to the views expressed during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill that the new pet abduction offence should be extended to cats. We are currently considering this issue further.

Plastics: Waste

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of the wider adoption of biomass plastics to reduce plastic waste; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: In April 2021, we published our response to our call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics. Concerns were raised that the full environmental impacts of bio-based plastics, including land and water usage for example, were potentially greater overall compared with conventional based plastics. Further research is required to make sure that bio-based plastics lead to a better environmental outcome overall. During the production of these materials, there are a number of factors we need to better understand – we need to consider water consumption, the impact of crop switching and carbon footprint, so a full lifecycle approach is considered. On the basis of current information, a key area of interest for Government is bio-based plastics derived from materials that would otherwise have been waste.

Plastics

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of offering (a) financial incentives and (b) introducing a tax to encourage the use of biomass plastic; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of running a publicity campaign to raise awareness of biomass plastics as an alternative to regular plastics; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: No. Further research is required to make sure that bio-based plastics lead to a better environmental outcome overall. Our position on this was set out in the response to our call for evidence on the need for standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics in April 2021.

Iron and Steel: Waste

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to prevent steel scrap waste from being exported to economies with lower environmental standards.

Rebecca Pow: Steel scrap waste is a commodity which is traded on a legitimate global market. Where the UK cannot currently recycle materials economically, exports can help ensure those materials are recycled. The UK Government therefore has no plans to restrict the exports of steel scrap for recycling. While there is a legitimate global market for secondary materials, it must be and is subject to strict regulatory requirements. Under the UK legislation on waste shipments, businesses involved in the export of wastes are required to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they ship is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling. All waste exports need to be made in accordance with the relevant legislation and we have a system of inspections in place to verify compliance. The UK regulators mount targeted inspections at UK ports working with the shipping sector to help detect and prevent illegal waste shipments. Individuals and businesses found to be exporting waste in contravention of the requirements in the legislation waste can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.

Air Pollution: Hampstead and Kilburn

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the level of air pollution in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency; and whether that level is within adequate limits set out in law.

Rebecca Pow: The department makes an assessment of air quality in London in the Air Quality in the UK Report https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/. A map of compliance data for more localised information is also published: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/compliance-map/ . As air quality in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, they undertake their own monitoring and assess compliance with statutory limit values.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with police forces in areas experiencing disappearances of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from hotels on (a) investigating the disappearances and (b) helping to prevent future disappearances; and what steps she is taking with the impacted hotels to help to prevent future disappearances.

Robert Jenrick: The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authority care placements for young people. The safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our primary concern. Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst local authority accommodation is found.We take the safety and welfare of those in our care seriously and the Home Office has robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure those in our accommodation are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority. The National Transfer scheme (NTS) has seen 3,148 children transferred to local authorities with children's services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. This compares to 739 children transferred in the same time period in the previous year. We are providing local authorities with children's services with an additional £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023.For any young person that goes missing from an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) hotel, the local authority will convene a multi-agency forum including local police forces and the Home Office to seek to locate the child and ensure their safety, following the 'missing persons protocol', led by our directly engaged social workers. The MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed for any looked after child who goes missing from a care setting, including the UASC hotels. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

Visas: Syria and Turkey

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will take steps to offer visitor and family reunion visas to people impacted by the February 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and Syria.

Robert Jenrick: The UK government continues to support people who have relatives impacted by the horrific natural disaster in Turkey and Syria. This includes supporting British nationals and those who are either settled or have refugee or humanitarian protection status in the UK.Where family members do not have a current UK visa, they can apply online via one of our available standard visa routes (including visitor or family reunion as appropriate). Biometrics can be submitted at the nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC).Decision making teams are still processing visa applications from Turkey and for people living in Syria and so existing visa services continue to be available.We continue to prioritise applications where there is an evidenced urgent or compelling reason to do so.

Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will introduce a short-term humanitarian visa scheme for people with family in the UK who have been made homeless by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Robert Jenrick: The Government currently has no plans to create specific schemes for those impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria to join family members in the UK. Existing visa routes for those wishing to come to the UK are already available.The UK continues to provide lifesaving and emergency support, coordinating closely with the Turkish government and United Nations in Syria to ensure our support meets the needs on the ground and that we can stay responsive to emerging needs.

Refugees: Ministerial Responsibility

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she intends to reinstate the post of Minster for Refugees; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The Immigration Minister is responsible for safe and legal routes to the UK.

Death: Registration

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing a bereaved family member to register the death of a family member via the telephone.

Robert Jenrick: No formal assessment has been made. The General Register Office for England and Wales is exploring options to bring forward amendments to primary legislation to allow informants more flexibility in how they register deaths in the future.

Death: Registration

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications of her policy of requiring bereaved families to register deaths in person at a Registration Office.

Robert Jenrick: No formal assessment has been made. The General Register Office for England and Wales is exploring options to bring forward amendments to primary legislation to allow informants more flexibility in how they register deaths in the future.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help reunite family members who have come to the UK under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Robert Jenrick: The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. The situation is very complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave Afghanistan. This includes the eligible family members of those being resettled under the ACRS. For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.In line with our existing policy, those resettled under the ACRS may be able to be accompanied by their immediate family members (their spouse or partner, and dependent children under 18).Those referred by UNHCR under the ACRS will have refugee status and will therefore be able to access the refugee family reunion route.Those without refugee status wishing to bring family members would need to apply through the regular family visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.Whilst the UK has made a generous resettlement commitment, we must bear in mind the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement have to be made.

Immigration and Visas

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many technical faults have affected (a) visa applications, (b) leave to remain extensions and (c) citizenship applications in each of the last 12 months; and what the average length of delay was.

Robert Jenrick: Due to disproportionate costs UKVI does not hold the recourse to determine how many technical faults have affected (a) visa applications, (b) leave to remain extensions and (c) citizenship applications in each of the last 12 months; and what the average length of delay was. However, where an application may require technical intervention or support our processes and procedures have been strengthened to proactively address technical issues as they are identified. If you require further information regarding Visa processing times, this can be found on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on all its main visa routes within customer service standards.

Asylum

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cessation of international protection decisions were made by the UK in 2022 by nationality of applicant and by applicant's protection status.

Robert Jenrick: Information regarding the number of cessations or withdrawals of international protection decisions made by the UK in 2022, and the nationality, and protection status of each applicant subject to those decisions, is not held centrally and to obtain it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to correspondence MPAM/0510569/23, what the technical error discussed in that correspondence is; what actions will be taken to rectify that error; and how many other applications have been affected by that technical error.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office can confirm the technical issue surrounding this case was caused by a system error that has since been resolved.In regard to ensuring this issue does not continue to affect future applications, we have instigated a programme of work with regular reporting to UKVI senior leaders and other senior stakeholders.

Refugees: Ukraine

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative assessment of the level of support her Department provides to Ukrainian people coming to the UK under the (a) Ukraine Family Scheme and (b) Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Robert Jenrick: Ukrainian nationals who arrive in the UK through both the Homes for Ukraine and the Ukraine Family Scheme are permitted to work and have access to public funds and services, including those offered by Local Councils.

UK Visas and Immigration: Repayments

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people waiting for visa cost refunds have not yet been reimbursed because of IT issues at UK Visas and Immigration.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people awaiting visa cost refunds from UK Visas and Immigration are due to be reimbursed (a) £0-£2000, (b) £2001-£5000 and (c) more than £5000.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long the UK Visas and Immigration system has experienced IT issues affecting the reimbursement of visa costs.

Robert Jenrick: We are not aware of IT issues that are affecting our processes for reimbursement or refunds. Where customers are experiencing an issue, they should contact us so we can investigate and take any necessary steps to rectify and identify if there is a root cause.Customers can either contact us at Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) or request a refund via our online application system.

Asylum: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2023 to Question 132333 on Asylum: Children, and with reference to the response to the Urgent Question on 24 January 2023 on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children, Official Report column 859, of the 4,600 unaccompanied children who have been accommodated in hotels since July 2021 and who have not gone missing, what is the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest number of days that they have remained in that form of accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: All unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in interim emergency UASC hotels are referred to local authorities under the mandated National Transfer Scheme (NTS) within the shortest time frame possible. The time it takes for a local authority to identify a placement varies and has meant some UASC experiencing delays in transferring. The NTS transferred 3,148 children to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. Over four times the number of transfers on the year before. To incentivise further transfers, we are providing local authorities with children’s services with an additional £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023. Some transfers fail on the day because the minor refuses to transfer. In these instances, social workers from the emergency hotels and local authorities work closely with the children to help them understand the options and encourage them to accept the placement.As of 08.02.23 the figures were as below for the young people who’ve been accommodated in UASC Hotels:a) Shortest length of stay – less than 1 dayb) Average length of stay – 20.11 daysc) Longest length of stay – 128 days The safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our primary concern. Robust safeguarding and welfare procedures are in place to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority. This includes support workers being onsite in the hotels 24 hours a day, supported by nurses and social workers. UASC are not detained and are free to leave the accommodation. All contingency sites have security staff and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

Asylum: Hotels

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional support has been provided to local authorities where asylum seekers, unaccompanied children and families have been moved into hotels in the local authority's area by the Home Office.

Robert Jenrick: All local authorities receive funding via the Local Government Finance Settlement or finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The majority of the funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities and the services they provide. Additionally, the Home Office provides a financial contribution to the costs incurred by local government supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers.

Home Office: CCTV

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) her Department and (b) its agencies utilise Chinese-manufactured CCTV systems.

Tom Tugendhat: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings.Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds..

Surveillance: Technology

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has published recent guidance for local authorities on best practice for auditing of (a) CCTV and (b) other surveillance technologies; and what steps she is taking with counter-terrorism specialists to ensure there is effective provision of these technologies.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government updated the Surveillance Camera Code last year [Amended Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which advises the police and local authorities to have effective review and audit mechanisms to ensure legal requirements, policies and standards are complied with in practice.For security reasons, we do not comment on counter-terrorism (CT) capabilities or provide a breakdown of CT funding. Decisions around the deployment of these capabilities is a matter for the police, who are operationally independent.

Waste: Crime

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the update to the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy will include tackling waste crime.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government plans to publish an updated Serious and Organised Crime Strategy later this year.

Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil: Protest

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people whose daily activity was disrupted by (a) Extinction Rebellion and (b) Just Stop Oil protests in the last calendar year.

Chris Philp: Groups like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil cause real misery to those caught up in their protests. Just Stop Oil were responsible for over 75 days of turmoil in 2022. In October alone, nearly 12,000 Metropolitan Police officer shifts were required to respond, diverting police from our communities. Overall, the police response to Just Stop Oil has cost the taxpayer over £14.5 million.The dangerous tactics used by Just Stop Oil on the M25 resulted in significant backlogs, meaning tens of thousands of drivers were gridlocked for hours. In one case, the longest tailback was over ten miles. National Highways have stated that these methods cause significant economic harm, disruption, and inconvenience to the general public.The Public Order Bill is now passing through Parliament and will improve the police’s ability to respond to highly disruptive tactics.

Forensic Science: Training

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that forensic scientists are able to maintain their skill level over time.

Chris Philp: The Forensic Science Regulator code of practice, currently before Parliament, sets out the standards required for conducting forensic science activities. Achieving and maintaining the appropriate accreditation for those activities, requires a competence assessment for all staff, which will help ensure that forensic scientists continue to operate at the levels required by the code.The Forensic Science Regulator ensures that the provision of forensic science services across the criminal justice system is subject to an appropriate regime of scientific quality standards. The Regulator is a public appointee and operates independently of the Home Office, on behalf of the criminal justice system as a whole.

Undocumented Migrants

Karen Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of migrants that attempted to enter the UK illegally in trucks and other motor vehicles in each of the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publish data on the number of detected attempts to enter the UK irregularly, by selected methods of entry since 2018. The latest publication can be found at: Gov.uk Irregular migration to the UK data page.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Elections: Proof of Identity

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of people eligible to vote have applied for a Voter Authority Certificate, broken down by region.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much a Voter Authority Certificate costs to produce per unit.

Lee Rowley: Further to the UQ response I gave on the floor of the House, I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to publicly-available information relating to the number of applications for the Voter Authority Certificate which can be found here. Information on expenditure will be set out in the usual way.

Mortgages

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with mortgage lenders on relaxing restrictions on lending on buildings under 18 metres with fire safety defects.

Lee Rowley: On 20 December, the six largest mortgage lenders, supported by UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, confirmed, subject to their normal policy requirements, that from Monday 9 January 2023 they will lend on buildings in England of 11 metres and above in height with building safety issues. This is subject to the building being part of a developer or government remediation scheme, or the property being protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, as evidenced by a leaseholder deed of certificate.I have met executives from each of those lenders to impress this upon them and to review their progress. It is important that lenders honour this commitment, and my officials and I are monitoring its implementation carefully.

Wheelchairs: Access

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage (a) shops, (b) pubs, (c) cafes, (d) restaurants and (e) other public facing businesses to publish information on whether their businesses are accessible for wheelchair users.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department collects data on the wheelchair accessibility of (a) shops, (b) pubs, (c) cafes, (d) restaurants and (e) other public facing businesses.

Lee Rowley: In offering services, shops, pubs, cafés, restaurants or other public facing business have a duty to anticipate making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and disabled people are supported to complain to a business owner, where they face physical barriers. The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Equality Act.Building control bodies check for compliance with regulatory requirements including accessibility at the point a building is built.

Social Rented Housing: Greater London

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of social housing in London.

Dehenna Davison: In the Levelling Up White Paper the government set out its ambition to reduce the number of non-decent rented homes by 50% by 2030, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.Most recently, the Secretary of State confirmed he will table an amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill to introduce 'Awaab's Law' which will require landlords to fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes.

Housing: Construction

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress his Department has made on increasing the number of new homes built; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that these homes are affordable for young people to rent or buy.

Rachel Maclean: We are committed to helping to make the dream of homeownership a reality, and operate a range of schemes which aim to make home ownership more affordable. Since spring 2010, over 822,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Government-backed schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy.   We are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing which is why, through our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, we will deliver tens of thousands of affordable homes for both sale and rent, right across the country.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many appeals to the Planning Inspectorate have not been allocated an inspector within a year of their submission.

Rachel Maclean: The Planning Inspectorate currently has 878 appeals which have not been allocated an inspector within a year of their submission.

Planning: Reform

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans to reform the planning system to reduce delays to (a) the North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury and (b) other major infrastructure projects.

Rachel Maclean: Given the quasi-judicial nature of the planning system, I cannot comment on this specific project. However, delivering major infrastructure is integral to supporting our levelling up agenda. The department is already consulting on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).In addition, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. As part of this, local authorities will be required to prepare an Infrastructure Delivery Strategy, which will make it clearer for communities as to what infrastructure will be provided, and when. They will be expected to engage with relevant infrastructure providers in determining these strategies.The department is also bringing forward reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) consenting process. We have recently published a cross Government Action Plan, setting out reforms that will streamline and speed up the consenting process for major infrastructure by making it better, faster, greener, fairer and more resilient.

Ground Rent: Arrears

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will set a timeframe for introducing legislative provisions on ensuring that leaseholders will not be subject to ground 8 mandatory possession orders for arrears of ground rent.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to (a) cap and (b) bring forward other measures on ground rents for people who held their lease prior to commencement of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government are taking to increase the regulation of ground rent increases for leaseholders.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has already legislated via the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022. The Act makes homeownership fairer and more transparent for thousands of future leaseholders future leaseholders, by preventing landlords under most new residential long leases from requiring a leaseholder to pay a financial ground rent. If any ground rent is demanded as part of a new residential long lease that is regulated by the Act, it cannot be for more than one peppercorn per year.We understand that some leaseholders have suffered as a result of high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. We want to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.The CMA have secured commitments benefiting over 20,000 leaseholders.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new affordable homes were delivered in settlements with a population of less than 3,000 between April 2010 and March 2022.

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Homes and Communities Agency records data on the delivery of new affordable homes in settlements of fewer than 3,000 people.

Rachel Maclean: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities collects and publishes data on delivery of affordable homes in populations of less than 3,000 people. These data are available in Section I of the Local Authority Housing Statistics dataset, as well as in the accompanying open data. For the years 2011-12 onwards, these data can be broken down by new build and acquisitions.

Housing: Rural Areas

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Housing and Planning of 20 February 2023, Official Report, column 15, how his Department defines a rural local authority in England.

Rachel Maclean: The department uses the DEFRA rural-urban classification, updated since the publication of this classification for local authority mergers.

Leasehold: National Trust

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what legislative steps he plans to take to ensure National Trust leaseholders can extend their leases; and in what circumstances those leases would be extendable.

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to respond to the Law Commission’s recommendations relating to National Trust leaseholders, published on 21 July 2020 in the report entitled Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease, HC584 of Session 2019-21.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to creating a fairer and more transparent housing system that works for everyone. Leasehold reform supports our mission to level up homeownership by addressing the power imbalance at the heart of the leasehold system.   In 2017 the Government asked the Law Commission to review existing leasehold legislation. The Law Commission's findings, published in 2020, made clear that under the current system too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold too complex, lacking transparency and prohibitively expensive. The Law Commission made a number of recommendations and the government will respond to these, including those relating to National Trust leaseholders, in due course.

Domestic Abuse: Local Government

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of provisions in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 on the responsibilities of local authorities to help tackle domestic abuse; and whether her Department is taking steps to monitor the work of local authorities in this area.

Felicity Buchan: Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced new duties on local authorities which came into force on 1 October 2021 to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation. Backed by £125 million in both 2021/22 and 2022/23 and on 12 December 2022 we announced a further two years of government funding - £127.3 million and £129.7 million for the delivery of these duties in 2023/24 and 2024/25.Under the duties local authorities are required to assess the local support needs of all victims and commission support to meet the identified needs in safe accommodation. Local authorities are required to report annually to my department on how they have delivered their duties. A Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation National Expert Steering Group, chaired by the Minister for Housing and Homelessness and co-chaired by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner has been set up to monitor delivery of the new duties. The Group will publish an annual report summarising progress in implementation of the new support in safe accommodation duties across England.The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also amended homelessness legislation to give those who are homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse priority need for accommodation secured by the local authority. This change came into force in July 2021. Local authorities must provide temporary accommodation until the duty can be discharged through provision of settled accommodation. The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out comprehensive guidance on providing homelessness services to people who have experienced, or are at risk of, domestic abuse.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Clinical Trials: Reviews

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled Lord O'Shaughnessy to lead independent review into UK clinical trials, published on 20 February 2023, what budget her Department has allocated to the review.

George Freeman: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Innovation and Research: Manufacturing Industries

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the ONS dataset on Business enterprise research and development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the decrease in R&D employment in manufacturing since 2018.

George Freeman: Table 5 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D employment in UK businesses by broad product group. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK R&D employment596,000614,000629,000712,000Manufacturing179,000178,000178,000158,000 The new ONS BERD data shows different product groups with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D employment. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Research: Transport

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the ONS dataset on Business enterprise research and development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the decrease in R&D expenditure on transport manufacturing since 2018.

George Freeman: Table 3 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by broad product group. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK business R&D£40,993m£42,184m£43,995m£46,929mTransport£4,327m£3,720m£3,215m£3,028mThe new ONS BERD data shows different product groups with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Universities: Economic Growth

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to take steps with universities to help those institutions to develop local economies and identify areas where growth is possible.

George Freeman: Universities play important roles in their local economies including through education and skills, undertaking research, working with local businesses and also as large employers. The Department supports universities to further this economic role. This includes funding streams such as Higher Education Innovation Funding which incentivises universities to work with business, public and third sector organisations to exchange knowledge and increase the economic and societal benefit from their work. Additionally, the Government is committed to supporting regional growth across the UK and has pledged to increase domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East by at least 40% by 2030. Last year we launched 3 Innovation Accelerators (Glasgow, West Midlands and Greater Manchester) with £100m, and we are currently working on a new and interactive cluster mapping tool.

Innovation and Research: Employment

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the ONS dataset on Business Enterprise Research and Development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his policies of trends in research and development employment in the Services and Other product group; and if he will provide a further breakdown of research and development employment within this product group.

George Freeman: Table 5 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D employment in UK businesses by broad product group. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Services and Other (non-manufacturing): Total R&D employment417,000437,000451,000554,000Separately, Table 3 breaks down expenditure on Services R&D into seven product groupand Other R&D into four product groups; it is likely that patterns of employment within each group over time are correlated with patterns of expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research: Aerospace Industry and Transport

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the ONS dataset on Business Enterprise Research and Development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, whether she has made an assessment of the reasons for the decline in research and development employment in (a) transport manufacturing and (b) aerospace manufacturing since 2018.

George Freeman: Table 5 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D employment in UK businesses by broad product group. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK R&D employment596,000614,000629,000712,000Transport30,00028,00029,00027,000Aerospace15,00014,00014,00013,000 The new ONS BERD data shows different product groups with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D employment. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Office for National Statistics data entitled Business Enterprise Research and Development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment she has made of trends in the total expenditure on research and development in companies with 250 employees and over between 2018 and 2019.

George Freeman: Table 7 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by total company employment size bands. This included the following estimates:  2018201920202021250 employees and over£21,024m£20,754m£20,687m£22,620m Comparable estimates for companies with 0 to 249 employees rose more quickly over the same period. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research: Costs

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2023 to Question 132389 on Innovation and Research, what estimate she has made of the expected cost to the public purse of the research to identify clusters of firms performing R&D and innovation in the UK.

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2023 to Question 132389 on Innovation and Research, if she will publish details of the successful bidder who will complete the research to identify clusters of firms performing R&D and innovation in the UK.

George Freeman: The successful bidder’s details and cost will be published in March on GOV.UK.

Innovation and Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2023 to Question 132389 on Innovation and Research, for what reason UK Research and Innovation does not hold information on UK’s scientific strengths and geographical areas.

George Freeman: As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out in Making Government Deliver for the British People on 7 February, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will focus on optimising public R&D investment to support areas of relative UK strength. The research project I described in the answer I gave to Question 132389 will support this work. I also refer the Hon. Member to UKRI’s five-year strategy (https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-strategy-2022-to-2027/) and publications on the regional distribution of funding (https://www.ukri.org/what-we-offer/what-we-have-funded/geographical-distribution-of-funding/).

Department for Business and Trade

Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2023 to Question 140086 on Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions, if she will publish a breakdown of how that £1.3 billion of funding to support innovative projects has been allocated.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) funding for collaborative research and development (R&D) projects is awarded on a competitive basis. The table below provides a funding breakdown for each APC Core R&D competition. Details of individual projects funded via the APC are published on the UK Research and Innovation website at: https://www.ukri.org/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects-since-2004/ Competition Total project costTotal grant award Projects fundedAPC 1£59,299,708£29,408,2404APC 2£31,432,917£16,878,7692APC 3£107,023,151£53,790,2435APC 4£89,787,053£39,269,6175APC 5£103,824,213£49,308,6538APC 6£120,978,168£59,915,0167APC7£21,865,298£10,933,6972APC8£ 52,806,484£26,475,8213APC9£83,183,746£34,830,7283APC10£45,019,141£22,392,3512APC11£54,206,544£24,502,8483APC12£68,227,095£34,025,8415APC13£48,016,093£21,681,6902APC14£26,900,430£13,304,9814APC15£98,012,958£48,340,5626APC16£52,663,769£26,230,9916APC17£54,303,084£26,976,5413APC18£92,588,261£37,826,1584APC19£45,776,454£22,751,9083APC20£58,636,356£29,221,8504APC21£15,561,107£7,780,5631Totals £1,330,112,030  £635,847,068 82

Mining: Seas and Oceans

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of British Geographical Society’s report entitled Deep-sea mining evidence review – MineralsUK, published in October 2022.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government commissioned this independent review from the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and Heriot-Watt University to provide a comprehensive description of current research related to deep-sea mining. Informed by evidence, we continue to contribute to discussions on deep-seabed mining at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), pressing for the highest environmental standards in relation to existing exploration activity, and potential future commercial exploitation should that be approved by the ISA.

Britishvolt: Insolvency

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2023 to Question 140089 on BritishVolt: Insolvency, what agreed milestones had to be achieved for the company to draw down on any Automotive Transformation Fund funding.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February to Question 140089 on BritishVolt: Insolvency, what steps she is taking to help companies meet the milestones required for them to receive Automotive Transformation Fund funding.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government remains committed to developing a globally competitive EV supply chain in the UK, including unlocking private investment in gigafactories. All Automotive Transformation Fund applications are subject to a process of due diligence to test key assumptions such as those which underpin the value for money analysis, viability, compliance with subsidy control and wider legal requirements. This is vital to ensure that awards are robust and protect taxpayers’ interests. There are significant commercial sensitivities related to funding arrangements for potential future grant awards, so it would not be appropriate to go further into the details of this matter.

Help to Grow Schemes

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses have (a) signed up for and (b) completed the Help to Grow: Management training; and what proportion of those businesses employ (i) five to 19 employees, (ii) 20 to 49 employees, (iii) 50 to 99 employees and (iv) 100 to 249 employees.

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses have (a) signed up to and (b) completed the Help to Grow: Management Course; and what proportion of those businesses have an annual turnover of (i) £0 - £499,999, (ii) £500,000 - £999,999, (iii) £1 million - £4,999,999, (iv) £5 million - £10.19 million, (v) £10.20 million - £49.99 million and (vi) £50 million or more.

Kevin Hollinrake: Data on the Help to Grow: Management scheme will be released in Spring 2023.

Energy: Disability

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will work with (a) disabled people and (b) disability charities in the development of the Government’s new approach to consumer protection.

Kevin Hollinrake: Throughout the consultative process in relation to reforming competition and consumer policy, the Government has been open to hearing from a full range of stakeholders, including disability and vulnerability advocacy groups. We will continue to engage with stakeholders during Bill passage to ensure consumer protection reforms are tailored to and reflect the full range of consumer needs across the UK.

Trade Agreements: Japan

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on provisions in the UK–Japan free trade agreement on the obligations arising from International Labour Organisation membership.

Kevin Hollinrake: The UK signed the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 23 October 2020. The Government is committed to upholding labour commitments in the CEPA. We are committed to enhancing labour standards globally, for example by leading the way in negotiating the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention. We were the third country in Europe to ratify the convention in March 2022. We are confident that the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is compatible with our international obligations. Many member states of the ILO have minimum service levels covering a range of key services.

Postal Services: Rural Areas

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of planned closures of Royal Mail Customer Service Points on rural mail services.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government recognises the important role that the postal service plays in providing key services to local communities across the country. However, as a private business, the closure of Customer Service Points is a commercial and operational matter for Royal Mail. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial or operational decisions.

Land Registry: Bristol West

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many applications to HM Land Registry for routine changes to existing registered titles were completed within the service standard of 60 to 80 days in Bristol West constituency in the latest period for which data is available.

Kevin Hollinrake: HM Land Registry (HMLR) publishes information on GOV.UK about its average processing times. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-processing-times. In October-December 2022, HMLR completed 84% (1149) of applications for routine changes to update registered titles in the Bristol West constituency within 80 days and completed most (74%) within 60 days. Over a third of those applications that took longer than 80 days to complete required additional information from the conveyancer. Customers can request fast-tracking at no extra cost if an application becomes urgent. HMLR processes over 1000 of these every day, with 95% completed within 10 working days.

Productivity

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she plans to take to support businesses with increasing productivity.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government’s ‘Help to Grow’ scheme is helping small and medium sized (SME) businesses across the UK learn new skills, reach more customers and boost profits and productivity. Furthermore, the 38 Growth Hubs (led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships) provide all businesses, regardless of size or sector, with advice support via a free, impartial, “single point of contact”. They simplify the local business support landscape, bringing together organisations involved in the provision of business support from across the public and private sectors to develop and deliver integrated national and local business-facing programmes, services, and campaigns.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Local Government: Climate Change

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help encourage local authorities to adopt a climate action plan.

Graham Stuart: The Net Zero Strategy sets out our commitments to enable local areas to deliver net zero. This includes funding five Local Net Zero Hubs in England which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment; and funding work to develop business models to increase private sector investment in local net zero.

Environment Protection: Job Creation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent progress the Green Jobs Delivery Group has made.

Graham Stuart: The Green Jobs Delivery Group has met three times. It’s the central forum for continued action on green jobs and skills and is a key component in responding to the skills challenge and transition.As a result of the current economic context, the group is looking at emerging workforce issues relating to the delivery of net zero and the UK’s environment goals and has formed three ask and finish groups on Power and Networks, Nature Skills, and Local capacity.

Nuclear Reactors

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to speed up the approval process for modular nuclear reactors.

Graham Stuart: The Government invested up to £12m with the UK’s nuclear regulators between 2017 and 2022 under the Nuclear Innovation Programme, to build regulatory capability for small and advanced modular reactors (SMR and AMR). With this funding, the regulators modernised the Generic Design Assessment process introducing efficiencies while maintaining rigour and updated their Technical Assessment Guidance and Assessment Principles for regulating SMRs and AMRs. As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government will work with the regulators to understand the potential for additional streamlining or removing of duplication from the regulation of new nuclear power stations.

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Minister for Energy and Climate's contribution to the Urgent Question of 6 February 2023 on Prepayment Meters: Ofgem Decision, what the results were of the Government's investigation into decision-making on the process for obtaining warrants to forcibly install prepayment meters.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem wrote to suppliers asking them to pause the installation of pre-payment meters under warrant until they had completed a review of how this work is carried out and managed. Ofgem will also be looking at the rules around mandatory moves to prepayment meters, when a court warrant can be applied for, and the steps that first need to be taken.

Energy: Disability

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department will take to tackle the impact of rising energy prices on disabled people.

Graham Stuart: To help UK consumers with rising energy costs, the Government launched various energy support schemes. These include the Energy Price Guarantee, Alternative Fuel Payment, and Energy Bills Support Scheme.The Government will provide free energy efficiency upgrades to low-income and vulnerable households through local authorities and energy suppliers. Government-funded upgrades will be available for poorly insulated homes via the Energy Company Obligation from spring 2023. The most vulnerable households will receive a Cost-of-Living Payment of £900 for means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners, and £150 for individuals on disability benefits. Furthermore, from April 2023, benefits, including working-age and State Pension, will increase by over 10%.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the cost to the public purse of the warm home discount was for (a) 2021-2022 and (b) 2022-2023.

Graham Stuart: The Warm Home Discount is a supplier obligation scheme, and participating energy suppliers are responsible for providing rebates and funding Industry Initiatives. In 2021/22, the only costs to Government were administrative costs associated with running the scheme. Participating energy suppliers provided £359 million of support to households.The final figure for the amount of support delivered under the scheme in 2022/23 will be available in Ofgem’s annual report later in the year.

Energy Charter Treaty

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to commence a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty in the event that the modernisation package negotiated in 2022 is not approved; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The UK has been a strong advocate for ECT modernisation. At the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty was postponed. The UK has been closely monitoring the situation surrounding the Energy Charter Treaty’s modernisation process, including the positions taken by other Contracting Parties.

Carbon Emissions and Hydrogen: Finance

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to announce the outcome of the Hydrogen Business Model and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund: Electrolytic Allocation Round 2022.

Graham Stuart: The first electrolytic hydrogen allocation round will offer support from the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (capital funding) and the Hydrogen Production Business Model (revenue support). Applications closed in October 2022 and the Government hopes to announce a project shortlist in Q1 this year. Following due diligence and negotiations, the Government will award contracts to successful projects later this year.

Energy

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to bring forward a revised energy strategy.

Graham Stuart: From the Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper in 2020 through the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 and in last year’s British Energy Security Strategy, the Government has outlined its energy objectives. As my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Autumn Statement, the Government will soon publish more detail about its approach to delivering energy security, consistent with achieving Net Zero by 2050.

Electricity: Aberconwy

Robin Millar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in electricity standing charges on (a) charities and (b) businesses in Aberconwy constituency; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the level of Government support for energy costs in the the context of recent changes in market pricing.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem has launched a wider review into the non-domestic market and has recently issued a Request-for-Information (RFI) to gather evidence on suppliers' deemed rates charges and EBRS scheme application. The Government has been clear that current levels of support were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow non-domestic customers to adapt. The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme has a cap set at £5.5 billion based on estimated volumes.

Batteries: Vanadium

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he or his officials have had discussions with (a) National Grid or (b) industry stakeholders relating to vanadium redox flow batteries.

Graham Stuart: As part of the Department’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, officials have discussed Vanadium redox flow batteries. This was in relation to a battery owned by Invinity Energy systems to see if it could deliver long duration storage-enabled power on demand from UK-based solar generation in 2022. The Department has not had other specific discussions on Vanadium redox flow batteries with other parties.

Databases: Energy

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that the energy needs of data centres do not adversely impact the energy supply for new or existing homes.

Graham Stuart: The Government is working with Ofgem, network companies and connection stakeholders to improve connection processes, embed best practice and release network capacity. This will help ensure the timely connection of new housing developments to the network. In addition, Ofgem's price control funds investment in the network for new connections, including housing developments. As part of the 2023-28 electricity distribution network price control, Ofgem will allow £3.1bn for network upgrades. The energy supply for existing homes is not impacted by new connections as distribution network operators only connect new projects once there is sufficient capacity to accommodate them.

Energy Bills Rebate: Natural Gas

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress has been made on discussions with domestic suppliers to allow people who predominantly use gas to receive support from the Energy Bill Support Scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is delivering a £400 non-repayable government discount to households with a domestic electricity contract in Great Britain. Customers paying for their electricity via direct debit or smart prepayment meter will receive the discount directly. Customers with traditional prepayment meters are receiving the discount via vouchers or Special Action Messages from their supplier. Transferring Energy Bills Support Scheme payments from electricity meters to gas meters is allowed under the scheme. This is at the discretion of the energy supplier and encourages them to offer their customers as much flexibility as possible.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Energy Performance Certificates

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reasons the eligibility criteria for the Warm Homes Discount were altered to not include people living in houses with an Energy Performance Certificate score of D or below.

Graham Stuart: The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales does not exclude households based on their property’s energy efficiency rating. As outlined in the consultation and Government Response on reforming the scheme, eligibility is not based on energy efficiency ratings as Energy Performance Certificates are not available for every domestic property.Households in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and who live in a property with a high energy cost score may be eligible to receive a rebate. The Government calculates energy cost scores for properties using certain characteristics taken from Valuation Office Agency data: the type, age, and floor area.In Scotland, energy suppliers can set their own criteria in addition to the minimum eligibility criteria as set in the Regulations, subject to approval by Ofgem.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Universal Credit

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of altering eligibility requirements so that all recipients of Universal Credit can access the Warm Homes Discount.

Graham Stuart: The Government has reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales from 2022/23 to focus the support to households at greater risk of fuel poverty and to provide most rebates automatically. Households both in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and who live in a property with a high energy cost score may be eligible to receive a rebate. Extending the scheme to all recipients of Universal Credit would decrease the proportion of recipients in fuel poverty and increase the cost of the scheme significantly. In Scotland, energy suppliers can set their own criteria in addition to the minimum eligibility criteria as set in the Regulations, subject to approval by Ofgem.

Energy Bills Rebate

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the impact of delays in opening of applications for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding on vulnerable households.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to delivering support for those households without a direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier as quickly as possible. The Government is focused on continuing to work closely with local authorities to ensure that they are suitably prepared to deliver support to eligible households. Further updates on the scheme's launch will be provided in due course and, therefore, no assessment will be made.

Biofuels

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will publish his Department's biomass strategy.

Graham Stuart: The Government has committed to publishing the Biomass Strategy in Q2 2023.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what mechanisms are in place to monitor whether the operation of the Warm Home Discount high-energy-cost score formula is operating as intended for people in receipt of a qualifying benefit; what processes are in place to allow applicants to challenge decisions and present evidence of a decision being based on incorrect data on energy costs; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Government developed and tested the energy cost score process and the data matching for the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales prior to the first year of the reformed scheme.The Government will conduct an evaluation of the reformed scheme with a view to monitoring the results and informing the future of the scheme.Where a household believes the information held by the Government is inaccurate, the residents may call the Warm Home Discount helpline by 28 February and ask for alternative evidence to be used, in the form of an Energy Performance Certificate or Land Registry data.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people who received a Warm Home Discount payment in 2021-2022 have not been able to access a payment in 2022-2023 because they do not meet the new eligibility criteria measured by the high-energy-cost score formula in (a) Brighton and Hove Local Authority area and (b) England.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Bristol North West on 10th February 2023 to Question 135484.

Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will include surface coating or heat treatment, SIC Code 25610, in the Energy Intensive Industries compensation scheme.

Graham Stuart: The list of eligible sectors for the compensation scheme is set for its duration until 2025.

Energy: Costs

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what specific support his Department is providing for people living with arthritis to assist with increasing energy costs.

Graham Stuart: To help UK consumers with rising energy costs, the Government launched various energy support schemes. These include the Energy Price Guarantee, Alternative Fuel Payment, and Energy Bills Support Scheme. The Government will provide free energy efficiency upgrades to low-income and vulnerable households through local authorities and energy suppliers. Government-funded upgrades will be available for poorly insulated homes via the Energy Company Obligation from spring 2023. The most vulnerable households will receive a Cost-of-Living Payment of £900 for means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners, and £150 for individuals on disability benefits. Furthermore, from April 2023, benefits, including working-age and State Pension, will increase by over 10%.

Energy Company Obligation

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the Government plans to publish the final design and scope of the ECO+ scheme; and when that scheme will be implemented.

Graham Stuart: The Government is analysing responses to the ECO+ consultation and currently plans to publish a Government response in spring 2023. The Government plans to launch the scheme in late spring 2023, once legislation is made.

Energy: Prices

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to address regional disparities in trends in the level of regional energy rates.

Graham Stuart: Energy distribution charges, which are incurred by suppliers and passed through to consumers, vary regionally to reflect the costs of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers between whom those costs are spread. The price cap ensures customers pay a fair price for their energy based on the underlying costs of supplying it. How suppliers set the standing charge and unit rate is a commercial decision.

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Minister for Energy and Climate's contribution to the Urgent Question of 6 February 2023 on Prepayment Meters: Ofgem Decision, when he plans to publish details of the proposed compensation scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Government will not publish details of a proposed compensation scheme. Specific matters of redress will be taken forward by Ofgem as the independent regulator. On 21 February Ofgem set out the next steps in its prepayment meter review. As part of this, Ofgem has told suppliers to act now to check that PPMs have been installed appropriately, and if rules have been broken, offer customers a reversal of installations and compensation payments where appropriate. Ofgem can also issue fines if necessary to address non-compliance.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Personal Independence Payment

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment who are no longer eligible for the Warm Homes Discount following the changes to eligibility in 2022; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changing the criteria on those no longer eligible.

Graham Stuart: The Government has expanded and reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales to target fuel poverty better and provide most rebates automatically. Households in receipt of means-tested benefits with high energy costs based on certain characteristics of their property are eligible for the rebate. Around 62% of Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance recipients receive a means-tested benefit; those with high energy costs are eligible. As a result of expanding and reforming the scheme, the Government estimates that 160,000 more households where a person has a disability or long-term illness will receive a rebate. These changes do not apply in Scotland, where customers apply for a Broader Group rebate through their energy suppliers, who can set their own eligibility criteria.

Renewable Energy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will ask local authorities to identify opportunities for developing (a) onshore wind, (b) solar energy, (c) ground source heating and (d) other sustainable energy sources in their area.

Graham Stuart: Local authorities have a lot of flexibility and discretion in how they take action, as they have very varied local opportunities, needs, and circumstances. The Net Zero Strategy sets out the UK's commitment to fund Local Net Zero Hubs across England which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment.

Renewable Energy: Community Development

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to assess opportunities for community energy generation.

Graham Stuart: The Government’s approach to community energy is set out in the Net Zero Strategy. This includes re-establishing the Community Energy Contact Group to strengthen Government's engagement with the sector and discuss opportunities for community energy.

Energy Bills Rebate

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average number of days that elapse between a direct debit payment being taken from a customer's account by an energy supplier and the issuance of an Energy Bill Support Scheme payment to that customer.

Graham Stuart: Direct debit (DD) customers are receiving their monthly Energy Bills Support Scheme payments from electricity suppliers either as a reduction to the DD amount collected, or as a refund to the customer’s bank account following the DD collection. The Direction for the scheme requires that any such refunds are issued immediately after taking the usual DD payment from the customer. Suppliers are required to report to government on delivery and data is being published monthly. No data has been collated specifically on the average number of days between a DD payment and the EBSS discount being applied.

Nuclear Power: Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the risk of relying on too few technologies to deliver the 24GW nuclear generation by 2050 target by supporting a diverse range of advanced nuclear technologies.

Graham Stuart: The Government is pursuing large-scale nuclear whilst also investing in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). In addition to supporting the construction of Hinkley Point C, the Government has invested £700m into the Sizewell C project – the first state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years. The up to £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund is funding SMRs and AMRs. Up to £210m of this is helping to develop the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor design. The Fund is also supporting an AMR Research Development & Demonstration competition.

Liquefied Natural Gas: Rural Areas

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has had discussions with Liquified Petroleum Gas providers on securing deliveries to rural communities during periods of inclement weather.

Graham Stuart: The supply of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) remains sufficient to meet customer demand across the UK, including those in rural communities. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero works with industry to monitor the LPG supply position and proactively take steps to mitigate any risks that may affect distribution to customers and essential services.Members of the sector trade association, Liquid Gas UK, signed up to a Customer Charter, which includes a Cold Weather Priority Delivery scheme to ensure that the elderly or chronically ill will not run out of energy. Further information can be found at: https://www.liquidgasuk.org/domestic/liquid-gas-uk-customer-charter-switch-lpg-supplier.

Alternative Fuel Payments: Boats

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on what date people who live on boats will be able to access the application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.

Graham Stuart: The GOV.UK portal and contact centre helpline will open on 27 February 2023 for all eligible households, including residents of houseboats on registered moorings.

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 142820 on Energy: Meters, when this data will be published; and where it will be published.

Graham Stuart: Following a request from my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, all suppliers have provided data on the number of warrants sought and executed in 2022. The Government and Ofgem will verify this data and will publish it in due course.

Energy Price Guarantee

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Energy Price Guarantee for financial year 2022-2023.

Graham Stuart: On 3rd February, the Department published expenditure figures for the Energy Price Guarantee. As of 29th December 2022, GB and NI EPG expenditure totalled £6.97 billion. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s current forecasted expenditure of the EPG for the financial year 2022/23, as published in November 2022, is £24.8 billion. The OBR will be publishing updated figures on 15th March, with updated forecasts expected to be lower than published in the Autumn Statement.

Energy: Prices

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will bring forward proposals to decouple the pricing of the standing charge from energy prices.

Graham Stuart: The setting of energy tariffs, including the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual energy suppliers. The standing charge is decoupled from energy unit price. It is a flat daily rate that reflects the costs energy suppliers incur to provide a live gas or electricity supply, regardless of a consumer’s usage, and includes, amongst other things, transmission and distribution costs. Under the Energy Price Guarantee, average standing charges for customers on default tariffs remain capped in line with the levels set by Ofgem.

Energy Bills Discount Scheme: Care Homes

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason the care sector is not eligible for the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme as part of the Government's Energy Bills Discount scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Government has taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for ETII support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes. Both of those thresholds must be met to warrant inclusion, meaning that some energy intensive sectors, which are not significantly trade intensive will not be eligible for support.

Renewable Energy

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department are taking to support the growth of community energy schemes.

Graham Stuart: The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes. In addition, Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he decided to delay the opening of applications to the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding to 27 February 2023.

Graham Stuart: Owing to the complexities of the schemes delivery, the Government made the decision to extend the pilot phase of the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding. On 23 January, the Government announced that the scheme will be open to all eligible applicants by 27 February.

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Minister for Energy and Climate's contribution to the Urgent Question of 6 February 2023 on Prepayment Meters: Ofgem Decision, over what time period the Government and Ofgem are investigating poor practice concerning prepayment meters.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem has outlined the timescales for its Market Compliance Review on prepayment meters and remote switching. As per the letter on 15 February 2023, Ofgem published an update on the scope and timelines on 21 February 2023.

Nuclear Reactors

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help support the molten salt reactor sector.

Graham Stuart: In 2020 the Government established a £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund (ANF) to support the development of Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs and AMRs). The ANF includes support for an AMR Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) programme which seeks to demonstrate an AMR by the early 2030s to understand the potential of advanced reactors. The Government decided to focus the AMR RD&D programme on demonstrating High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs). The Government supports the development of all types of advanced nuclear technologies including molten salt reactors as part of wider policy activities, such as access to regulation.

Cabinet Office

Mobile Phones: Theft

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) phones were reported as stolen and (b) people were prosecuted for phone theft in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 9 February is attached. Letter response to PQ143801 (pdf, 145.8KB)

Blood: Contamination

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will make it its policy to offer interim compensation payments to the (a) estates, (b) parents and (c) children of people who have died as a result of infected blood products.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the hon Member to the statement I made in the House on 15 December in which I set out the work being carried out across government in consideration of the compensation framework study - which included specific reference to those groups who were not able to claim interim compensation.Since then, Sir Brian Langstaff, the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, has announced his intention to produce a further interim report about the Compensation framework study by Sir Robert Francis KC. The Government welcomes this news. The cross-government work that is underway is likely to be significantly assisted by Sir Brian’s further interim report in making preparations to act swiftly in response to his final report.

Government Property Agency

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the announced machinery of Government changes on 7 February 2023 and the formation of new departments will delay the retendering exercise currently being undertaken by the Government Property Agency on facility management.

Jeremy Quin: Following the Machinery of Government that was announced on 7 February 2023, there has been no change to the GPA’s plan for delivering the retendering of the facility management contracts. Furthermore, no changes to the retendering exercise are envisaged or being planned.

Integrated Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Review

John Healey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February to Question 138263 on Defence, when he plans to publish the update to the Integrated Review.

Jeremy Quin: As the Chancellor set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government is updating the Integrated Review. The date of publication for this will be confirmed in due course.

Prime Minister: Aviation

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2023 to Question 127921 on Prime Minister: Aviation, what information his Department records on the Prime Minister's use of flights within the UK, for official visits related to his role as Prime Minister.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2023 to Question on Prime Minister: Aviation, what information his Department records on CO2 emissions of air travel for official business trips of (a) the Prime Minister and (b) other Ministers.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 65 and 66 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report 2021-22, published 15 Dec 2022, if he will take steps to specify emissions and costs relating to air travel for official business trips for the Prime Minister and other ministers in his Department the next annual report.

Jeremy Quin: Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.As a whole, domestic flights within the United Kingdom allow Ministers to visit more parts of the United Kingdom in the time available, particularly areas further away from London, and reduce the need for overnight accommodation for Ministers and accompanying staff. Security considerations are also taken into account.All flights are carbon offset.Details of departmental business travel are published in the Cabinet Office audited annual report and accounts, including departmental figures on emissions for domestic and international flights.It has been the practice of successive Administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of protected individuals and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom.

Treasury

Cost of Living: Government Assistance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support has been made available for those earning the national average wage in response to the cost of living crisis.

John Glen: Hard-working people are the backbone of our economy. That is why last year the Government increased the national insurance starting threshold by £2,690, taking around 2.2 million working people out of paying national insurance. It is now possible to earn over £12,500 a year without paying any tax or national insurance. The Government has also taken decisive actions to support all households across the UK through cost of living challenges with a package worth £26 billion in 2023-24, including by reducing bills through the Energy Price Guarantee. Going further, the government’s priorities to halve inflation and growth the economy are the most effective way to build a more prosperous future for all.

Energy: Taxation

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy on independent North Sea oil and gas companies.

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the Energy Profits Levy on investment in the North Sea, including by independent operators.

James Cartlidge: The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35% from 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 March 2028. The government has been clear it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new investment allowance, ensuring that for every £1 an oil and gas company spends, they can claim around 91p in tax relief for most types of investment expenditure. For every £100 an oil and gas company invests to decarbonise upstream oil and gas production, they will be able to deduct £109.25 when calculating their levy profits. This provides an immediate and significant fiscal incentive to reinvest profits in the UK. The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on the Energy Profits Levy changes announced at the Autumn Statement. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy/energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy. The TIIN sets out that the levy is not expected to have a significant macroeconomic impact on the level of business investment. In December 2022, the Chancellor attended a roundtable with representatives from the oil and gas sector. The government has regular engagement with a range of stakeholders, including independent oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea, and I have also met with representatives of North Sea Oil and Gas.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter of 9 February 2023 from Martin Lewis.

James Cartlidge: The Government values input from stakeholders, and the Chancellor will respond to Martin Lewis’ letter as soon as possible.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Swimming Pools

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help swimming pools stay open after the end of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

Stuart Andrew: We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. That’s why we announced the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) in September last year. The EBRS was always time-limited, and has now been replaced with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). Under the EBDS, swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.Officials in my department are in regular contact with representatives from the sector to assess the impact of rising energy costs, including monitoring how operators and local authorities are responding to them. I was pleased to host a roundtable earlier last month to hear directly from the sector on how they are adapting to the challenges faced. I also held a separate meeting on the specific challenges facing Cornwall.Sport England has invested £13,315,795 in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £9,370,071 to Swim England. This is in addition to the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.

Bowling: Clubs

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support is available to bowls clubs in England.

Stuart Andrew: Supporting grassroots sport is a key Government priority and we recognise the positive impact participating in sport can have on health and wellbeing, as well as the benefits that sport clubs have on local communities.Since 2019, Sport England has invested more than £8.6 million into bowls, including over £19,000 in the East Devon constituency.Bowls clubs looking for funding up to £15,000 can apply for the Sport England small grants programme. Further information on this can be found at - https://www.sportengland.org/funds-and-campaigns/our-funds/small-grants-programmeWe appreciate that some bowls clubs may be struggling with rising energy costs. That is why we announced the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) in September last year. The EBRS was always time-limited, and has now been replaced with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). Under the EBDS, bowls clubs will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.

Football: Facilities

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help build new grassroots football facilities.

Stuart Andrew: The government has committed to delivering the facilities that every community needs and is investing over £300m across the UK between 2022 and 2025 as a step towards that ambition - a £230m uplift, on top of an existing £18m annual commitment in England.In 2021/22, £43m has already improved grass and artificial pitches, changing rooms and floodlights at over 170 facilities - to make a real difference to communities in all four home nations. This includes the creation or resurfacing of over 80 artificial grass pitches, over 20 grass pitch improvements, 40 changing room/pavilions and over 30 smaller capital projects such as floodlights and equipment. Recipients of funding in 2022/23 will be announced soon. Our delivery partners - the Football Association in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or the Football Foundation in England - deliver this funding on behalf of the Government, and engage directly with prospective projects.

Manchester United: Qatar

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether any officials, advisers or ministers from her Department have held discussions with representatives of (a) the Qatari government, (b) the consortium led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani or (c) Manchester United Football Club on that consortium's proposed takeover of that club.

Stuart Andrew: Officials, advisers and ministers from my department have had no such discussions.Any purchase of a football club is a matter for the owners and potential purchasers to resolve, including meeting any relevant requirement of the league in which they compete.

Women and Equalities

Employment: Fathers

Helen Hayes: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that fathers who are the primary carers of their children are not discriminated against in the workplace.

Maria Caulfield: Being a parent or a carer is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. However, we are clear that the Act makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate (directly or indirectly) against a person because of or for reasons related to the protected characteristic of sex, or victimise them for bringing a complaint, in any of the areas covered by the Act.For example, if a man is treated less favourably compared to his female colleague in relation to flexible working to accommodate childcare responsibilities, this could amount to direct sex discrimination. For fathers caring for a child with a disability, the disability discrimination protections in the Equality Act 2010 will apply to less favourable treatment because of being associated with a person with a disability.Any father who feels he has been discriminated against can bring a claim at an employment tribunal. They may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which is funded by the Cabinet Office, and provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns.We continue to keep the effectiveness of the Equality Act under review, however this is not an active area of work.